12th Report: Children and Young People in Custody (Part 1): Entry into the youth justice system

The government recognizes the importance of out-of-court disposals in preventing children from entering the criminal justice system and welcomes the Committee's attention to this area.

The government agrees more understanding is needed regarding out-of-court disposals, noting that the YJB's data collection work and previous evaluations will improve understanding, but it does not commit to commissioning a new national evaluation as recommended.

NHS England and NHS Improvement welcome the recommendation and will consider the merits of undertaking a process evaluation of Youth Liaison and Diversion schemes. They are also developing plans to establish pathfinder areas to identify and promote good practice in 2021-22.

The government shares concerns about disproportionality and commits to understanding and tackling it, stating this is a mainstream responsibility with resources integrated throughout. They refer to existing data publications but do not commit to providing new detailed research or a specific breakdown of allocated resources.

The government recognizes the importance of supporting children in the justice system. It is considering the feasibility of Law Commission recommendations on intermediaries for defendants and highlights existing support for children provided by YOTs and YJB guidance.

The government provides youth outstanding case data up to June 2020 but notes that official statistics post-June 2020 and 2019-2020 timeliness statistics are unavailable due to the pandemic. It details work by the Youth Justice Working Group to address backlogs, stating that youth courts have concluded more cases than received since July 2020.