Changes to youth justice funding abandoned
Neil Puffett
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Moves to simplify the way in which youth offending teams (YOTs) are funded have been shelved because some areas faced losing large amounts of money.
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) had intended to introduce a revised funding formula for YOT grants in 2013/14.
This would have involved the introduction of a single funding formula, replacing the seven existing individual formulae for streams of cash.
But the project has been put on hold, meaning the system will remain as it is for the time being.
John Drew, chief executive of the YJB, said some YOTs would have gained additional funding had the change gone ahead, with others losing money, but insisted that there would have been a “phased introduction” to cushion any impact.
“One of the things the board definitely had in its mind in making the decision was that it is a time of great financial stress for the youth justice system and it was probably not the right time to do it,” he said.
An illustration of how YOTs may have been affected by the change came to light last year when in September 2011, Leicestershire youth offending service’s management board revealed that the new formula could result in losing as much as £179,745 in 2012/13.
At the time the management board told the justice select committee that the loss of the money would have had “serious implications on service delivery”.
The YJB has said there is a continued need to address how funding is distributed in the future. Work carried out on the single funding formula work will inform progress in this area.