Offender education still under YPLA

Last week, it emerged that councils had been given legal responsibility for young offender education seven months earlier than expected because of an "administrative error". The current government had wanted to delay the introduction of the duty after it was initiated by Labour in 2009.

Responsibility for funding and contracts for young offender education was instead expected to transfer from the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) to councils immediately, as a result of the error.

But a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokeswoman told CYP Now that the government is now considering "whether it makes sense for the duties to transfer from the YPLA to local authorities".

Ian Turner, senior commissioning manger at Hounslow Council, which hosts Feltham young offender institution, argued that local authorities would be better equipped to improve the lives of young offenders if they held full responsibility for their education.

"We genuinely believe that for us to commission well, it would be best for us to hold the funding and contracts," he said.

Turner explained that the YPLA has told councils that it will retain the funding and contracts for young offender education until at least April 2011, admitting that a transfer may never happen.

Joanne Savage, who is working at the Local Government Association on secondment from the MoJ, said the future role of councils in young offender education is unclear.