Plan to axe YJB weakened its influence, says chief

Giving evidence to the House of Lords constitution committee, YJB chief executive John Drew revealed that the decision to axe the quango affected its relationship with the agencies it deals with and prompted “anger” among staff.

The body had been earmarked to be scrapped under the Public Bodies Bill but was given a late reprieve in November 2011, following strong opposition to the move in the House of Lords and from children's organisations.

The decision to abolish the YJB had been made more than a year earlier, in October 2010. The committee, which is investigating preparatory work done by government in advance of new legislation, was told that the “time lag” caused issues.

“There were consequences of the time lag,” Drew said. “There were consequences for us in terms of our authority to exercise our statutory role. Not our authority in a legal sense, but the degree to which people with whom we work were prepared to comply. We lost authority in that more common sense way.”

Drew said that cutbacks within the organisation were prompted by the comprehensive spending review, rather than the preparations for the body to be axed, adding that ministers had been “scrupulous” in their dealings with them.

But he said that the decision to scrap the YJB created bad feeling in the organisation.

“Staff undoubtedly felt angry about the proposal,” Drew said. “I don’t think angry is overstating it. That was because from our perspective, the real question was not being asked by government.

“It should be about were we effective and what were the end results of our work, and we felt there was a compelling case for our continued operation in the way in which we had operated previously.”

Earlier this month it was announced that the YJB will be reviewed for the third time in as many years.

The latest review will consider whether there is still a need for it to carry out each of its functions in their current form.