Agenda item

The Council considered a report that presented the Youth Justice Plan 2024/25 and highlighted some achievements and issues during 2023/24, along with areas for improvement which the service would focus on during the next year (for copy see file of Minutes).

Councillor C Hood, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health Services welcomed the update and thanked the dedicated staff and volunteers.  He was pleased to see that the plans for the year ahead contained improvements that we all wanted to see and was confident that these plans would produce positive outcomes.  He supported the recommendations in the report.

Councillor S Deinali thanked the staff involved and the support they give the children involved.  She said that the plan was very thorough and demonstrated how the service would address the challenges.  Whilst visiting the team Councillor Deinali said she was amazed at the level of work carried out and the commitment from staff to support all children and how this was having a significant impact on those children.  She added that some of these children who had offended were victims of crime themselves and that was an important point to take onboard.  She went on to say that the service was starved of funding and required a review of the funding to achieve the best outcomes for our children and young people.

Resolved:

That the recommendations in the report be approved.