Government to increase oversight of YJB

The second part a review of the YJB, conducted by the MoJ, has recommended that ministers should be consulted on a wider range of decisions.

The YJB already consults the government over key financial decisions and its business and corporate plan, but the review said that this should be extended to include key issues that have a "reputational impact", to "increase ministerial accountability".

The review document adds: "We also recommend earlier consultation with the sponsor unit [within the MoJ] to better predict which issues will be of ministerial interest."

The recommendation is one of a number of proposed measures that will see the YJB overseen to a greater degree by the MoJ, that are likely to prove unpopular with YJB staff.

The review also recommends that MoJ officials attend meetings of YJB board members on a "regular basis" and that the YJB provides it with copies of all committee papers.

And it suggests that the YJB considers sharing the MoJ's corporate services, potentially appointing new staff on MoJ terms and conditions, and offering existing staff to opt into MoJ terms and conditions.

The review is part of the Cabinet Office's "triennial review process", which requires departments to review any non-departmental public bodies that they sponsor at least once every three years.

Publication of the review findings comes exactly two years after the MoJ performed a late U-turn on plans to scrap the YJB.

At the time, the government announced its intention to reform the youth justice system "to make it more efficient and directly accountable to ministers".

The report of the triennial review suggests however that efforts to align the YJB more closely with the MoJ are not popular within the YJB.

It states that "both the YJB and the sponsor department [MoJ] acknowledge that there is some tension between them, although this has been improving".

It adds that YJB members of staff have raised concerns about being "micromanaged" by the government department.

Lin Hinnigan, chief executive of the Youth Justice Board, said: "The review has made recommendations about both our individual functions and governance.

"We will take these forward with the Ministry of Justice, as part of our continuing remit to reduce offending by identifying, disseminating and delivering effective practice within youth justice."

The first stage of the triennial review, published in August, confirmed the government's commitment to keeping the YJB as a quango and drew a line under speculation that the organisation's remit would be extended to include young adults.