Speaking in Parliament, youth justice minister Jeremy Wright said that between 2009/10 and 2010/11, there were 835 fewer posts in youth offending teams (YOTs) in England and Wales.
He said that the figure, which is the first official national statistic to illustrate the impact of austerity measures on youth justice staffing levels, includes volunteers, part-time and temporary staff.
The figure amounts to a four per cent reduction in staff during the year. Wright said that during the same period, the number of young people supervised by YOTs dropped by 20 per cent.
Gareth Jones, newly appointed chair of the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers, said he believed the figure may under-represent true staffing levels and may not take into account instances where posts have been “frozen” rather than deleted.
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