Issue - meetings

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People) that would also be considered by Council at its meeting on 26^th November 2019 and which sought to recommend that the Council endorse The Coventry Youth Offending Service Youth Justice Plan 2019-2020, attached as an Appendix to the report, following its agreement and signing off by Statutory Partners.

Youth Offending Teams were established under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The functions assigned to the Youth Offending Service included the duty upon the local authority under the Children Act 1989 to take all reasonable steps to encourage children not to commit offences. The Act imposed a duty on each Local Authority acting in co-operation with its Statutory Partners, (Police, Health and Probation) to ensure that all youth justice services were available in their area to such an extent as was appropriate for the area.

The key tasks of the service were:

•  Assessing and delivering interventions to the out-of-court-disposal cohort

•  Management and delivery of community sentences

•  Management and delivery of secure estate sentences and resettlement

•  Servicing the Youth Court and Crown Courts (in terms of provision of a court team, bail & health assessments, provision of pre-sentence reports and stand down reports)

•  Victim services

•  Parenting services and management of Parenting Orders

The Crime and Disorder Act legislation also imposed a duty to complete and submit a Youth Justice Plan each year.

The Plan provided an overview of Coventry Youth Offending Service achievements against key indicators, plans and targets, and identified the key strategic actions for the next 12 months. Statutory Partners (Police, Health, Probation) and Local Authority, represented by the Director of Children Services, had agreed and signed off on the Plan in July 2019.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet recommend that the Council endorses the Youth Justice Plan.