Between 2010–11 and 2020–21, the number of children cautioned or sentenced for an offence reduced from 85,300 to 15,751 (an 82% reduction) and the number of first- time entrants to the youth criminal justice system reduced from 46,012 to 8,848 (an 81% reduction).50 We asked the Ministry of Justice about the NAO finding that the government does not fully understand the reasons for this dramatic fall. The Ministry of Justice referred to work it carried out in 2017 which suggested that “potential drivers” of the reduction in first-time entrants to the criminal justice system were an increased focus on early intervention for people on the cusp of criminal activity to prevent them offending, and diversionary activity by youth justice services to reduce the number of children who have offended entering the youth justice system.51 However, when asked whether the impact of that early intervention and diversionary activity was measurable, the Ministry of Justice clarified that it was only measurable in terms of its investment in this area.52 The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities said it would write to us with 46 Qq 54–56 47 Q 78 48 Q 57 49 Q 79 50 C&AG’s Report, para 12 51 Qq 30, 31 52 Q 33 16 Support for vulnerable adolescents the reduction in the numbers of adolescents coming into contact with the criminal justice system more than once due to the Supporting Families Programme, albeit that this is a narrower cohort than all adolescents.53