Will sanctions or support ward off trouble?

This raises the old bogey of the balance to be struck between wants and needs, as the young people in the sights of this plan are likely to need support, whether or not they think they want it. In a society where the question of risk also intrudes on this equation, these are likely to be young people who, without requisite support, are likely to present a growing risk to both themselves and others.

The big policy question, however, is how to make the provision of relevant support non- negotiable. In other words, what are the sanctions? The plan says there will be "serious consequences" if young people and their families do not take the help that is offered. These will include parenting orders and antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos). This is not so far away from the argument I made to the Home Office a decade ago in one of the first policy discussions around the antisocial behaviour of young people.