McNally calls on DfE and DH to help tackle youth offending

Speaking at the annual Youth Justice Convention in Leicester, McNally, a former justice minister in the coalition government, said many young people in trouble with the law need sustained help with their education and mental health problems.

He said there is a need for a “triple alliance” between the YJB, the DfE and the DH and outlined his desire to gain a slice of government cash for mental health services, and lobby for “root and branch” educational reform of the youth justice system as part of Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system.

“The stories many of the children and young people tell us when they come to us are all too common,” McNally told delegates.

“The themes that prevail and the underlying causes for much of the offending behaviour these children exhibit are well known, but they are not matters for the YJB alone or the criminal justice system alone.

“We need a triple alliance of the Ministry of Justice, Department for Education and the Department of Health to bring focus and efficiency to what we are doing at national level.”

McNally said he is keen to speak with health minister Alistair Burt to attempt to secure some of the £1.5bn the government has set aside to improve children and young people’s mental health services, in order to improve mental health services for young offenders and those on the cusp of offending.

He added that, although the YJB is overseeing the recent introduction of new education contracts in young offender institutions that require the delivery of 30 hours of education or training each week, more needs to be done.

“I have no illusions about how big an ask that is, both for the secure estate staff and educational providers, with 60 per cent of the young people in the youth justice system having difficulties with speech, language, or communication.

“Of 15- to 17-year-olds in YOIs, 88 per cent of young men and 74 per cent of young women have been excluded from school

“We know education offers the best pathway both to employment, and to a crime-free life.

“With only about 1,000 young people now in the secure estate I believe there is a real opportunity afforded by the Charlie Taylor review to consider root and branch education-led reform of youth justice services.”

McNally also used his speech to question why the YJB is being examined as part of the review. The quango was previously earmarked for closure in 2011 but was given a last-minute reprieve as a result of pressure from within the House of Lords.
 
“In some ways I find it ironic that a Youth Justice Board that has been by any measure a resounding success has undergone almost continuous review and threat for the last seven years,” he said.

“Even more so when you consider that in response to repeated requests for cuts in budgets and resources since 2010, the YJB has delivered cumulative savings of over half a billion pounds through its improvements to management contracts in the secure estate, decommissioning of places, and reductions of staff levels.”