Youth Justice Board loses powers as new chair appointed

A leading child protection reviewer will chair the Youth Justice Board (YJB) as its remit is reduced as part of a restructure of custodial services. Charlie Taylor, who last year conducted a review into UK youth justice, will replace Lord Tom McNally as chair of the board in charge of preventing young people re-offending and ensuring custody is secure. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has announced that the YJB will lose some of its responsibilities with the creation of a new Youth Custody Service. The new body will operate as a distinct arm of the HM Prison and Probation Service and will oversee custody operations and contract management. However, the Howard League for Penal Reform has questioned whether the prison service is equipped to take on the additional workload. The YJB will instead continue providing independent scrutiny of the whole system and share best practice. Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: “These changes will enable the YJB to build on its strong track record and focus on its statutory function of providing vital independent advice on, and scrutiny of, the whole system, advising the Government on what standards to set for the youth justice system and monitoring delivery of those standards. “It will continue to work closely with Youth Offending Teams to promote early intervention in the community and share best practice across the system.” The new Youth Custody Service will be led by a director from the board level of the prison service, who will take on responsibility for the day-to-day running of the youth estate. Commissioning of youth custody services will move into the MOJ. The announcement comes after the YJB itself admitted that the current secure estate is “not fit for the purpose” of caring for and rehabilitating young people. In 2016, the Taylor review found that although the number of children convicted fell by 79 per cent between 2007 and 2015, the reoffending rate is still high. Almost seven in ten children sentenced to custody commit another offence within a year of release. As a result, Mr Taylor recommended that the youth justice system must develop a stronger focus on education and rehabilitation. In a report published on Friday (February 24), the Youth Custody Improvement Board found there has not been an effective diagnosis of the problems facing the estate. The report recommended bringing the eight bodies involved in youth justice into one centrally managed framework. Ms Truss said Mr Taylor’s experience means he is “uniquely well placed” to take on responsibility of the YJB. She added: “We are very grateful to Lord McNally, whose term as chair ends shortly, for his dedicated leadership of the YJB over the past three years, and thank him for the drive and passion he has shown.” Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “We welcome the appointment of Charlie Taylor as chair of the Youth Justice Board, even if that organisation is shorn of many of its responsibilities in this latest announcement. “There is certainly a case for change. The YJB has recently overseen the abuse scandal at Medway secure training centre and declining safety levels in children’s prisons across the country. “A more clearly defined role based on driving improvement across the system may well allow the agency to refocus itself. “Yet it is far from clear why this means a prison service already exists in crisis should be given more responsibility for some of the most vulnerable children in the country. “The Howard League will scrutinise these plans in detail over the coming months and will continue to push for radical changes in the way we deal with children in trouble with the law.”