Agenda item

Ensuring that the service is efficient.

 

1.    To accept the report.

2.    To express concern that there are no resources to provide speech and language support.

3.    To ask the Cabinet Member for Children and Families to correspond with the government asking them to consider ensuring that the appropriate resources are available to provide speech and language support to young people in the justice system.

 

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Children and Supporting Families. It was noted that the Gwynedd and Anglesey Youth Justice Service (YJS) is a statutory, multi-agency service, which is run by Cyngor Gwynedd and operates across both counties. It was noted that the role of the service was core to the prevention of crime and re-offending by children and young people operating within the framework of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, through a 'Child First' approach which focuses on strengths, well-being and rehabilitation. It was highlighted that the report provided an overview of the service structure, governance and funding arrangements, and the way the service worked with children across a wide spectrum of interventions. From out-of-court prevention and diversion to statutory court orders and support in more complex contexts, including custody and rehabilitation. It was noted that the report provided detailed information on the performance of the service, including the results of the HMIP inspection in 2023/24. In the inspection, it was noted that the service was good overall and that there was a high standard of assessment within the service. However, it was recognised that significant challenges to the service remain, including youth violence, knife crime, poor educational outcomes, mental health and speech needs, and the financial pressures associated with the reliance on grants. It was explained that the purpose of this report was to provide assurance of the effectiveness of the service, to enable members to question and challenge existing arrangements and to offer input to support the continued development of the service in a context of increasing demand and complexity. 

 

There was an opportunity for members to comment and ask questions. During the discussion, the following observations arose. 

 

It was asked what progress had been made as the service implements the improvement plan following the HMIP inspection. It was confirmed that the Improvement Plan was in place in March 2024. It was noted that the management board thoroughly reviewed the progress of the plan on a quarterly basis. It was confirmed that they had achieved around 80% of the implementation objectives in the current Plan, and a final inspection of the Plan would take place in March 2026.  With reference to the progress analysis, it was recognised that there were some issues in question that needed to be completed, such as, providing a Safeguarding Report for the Local Safeguarding Delivery group, SLA Review and working practices with CAMHS. It was trusted that most of the recommendations had been completed.  

 

Concern was expressed that the service had been without the support of Speech, Language and Communication Needs for 6 years, due to a lack of resource provision. It was asked what was happening to try and overcome this problem. It was recognised that this was one of the main limitations of the service and that it was a problem across the Youth Justice sector in Wales. It was stated that Gwynedd was at the forefront in Wales with the language and speech provision in 2007/2008. It was noted that this was innovative at the time and was funded by grant funding. It was explained that this provision had ceased in 2012 due to a lack of funding and resources. It was explained that efforts to explore options for support and resources in this area were hampered by the Welsh Government's failure to prioritise Youth Justice in their report '60% – Giving them a Voice' (2023) where they rejected the recommendations. It was noted that Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board was reluctant to provide resources as they were also operating within budgetary constraints. Serious disappointment was expressed about this, stressing that the statutory language of the justice service was often difficult to understand, which caused frustration and created injustice for young people attending court and contacting lawyers, etc. Attention was drawn to the fact that not much of the Welsh language was used in court, which added to the linguistic difficulties of young offenders in Wales. The importance of speech and language in this context was emphasised, and it was confirmed that the service was trying to cope with these challenges while offering as much support as possible. It was noted that justice service managers across Wales had worked as a group to submit a report to the Youth Justice Advisory Panel highlighting the serious situation and the level of inconsistency in the provision of speech and language resources in Wales. 

 

 

Reference was made to the report which stated that there was very little evidence available of robust conversations about protected characteristics and diversity at Strategic Management Board meetings. In response to an enquiry, it was confirmed that the service had carried out various assessments of protected characteristics and diversity over the last 2 years, which had been submitted to the Strategic Management Board. It was confirmed that quarterly reports will be provided to the Management Board, on the protected characteristics and levels of diversity among the cohort of children known to the justice system. It was reported that this included: 

 

·       Gender   

·       Additional Learning Needs 

·       Mental Health and Neuro-developmental 

·       Ethnicity 

·       Speech and Language 

·       Care Experienced Children.  

 

It was confirmed that the reports and responses from the Strategic Management Board and the Service will be included in the annual Youth Justice Plan. It was recognised that ethnicity reporting was challenging to achieve because there were very low levels of people of ethnic descent in north Wales. It was explained that this had a significant impact on the comparative data with areas such as Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester, etc. 

 

It was suggested that a letter could be written to the Welsh Government to emphasise the challenges of the service to try and secure additional funding and resources to deal with the number of young people in the justice system. It was recognised that many of the children and young people in the justice system come from being in the care system as young children. The link between children's educational levels and the justice system was highlighted. It was noted that children and families need to be given help and support at an early stage, to prevent problems from developing. Emphasis was placed on support and early intervention in the household and in schools, and the multi-agency collaboration to ensure that the preventative service leads to voluntary involvement and healthy relationships in the future. It was confirmed that collaborative work was underway with the Education Department, which focuses on support and inclusion elements, to raise attendance levels and ensure pupils are safe and thriving in a school. 

 

Concern was expressed that there was only one youth court in Gwynedd. It was noted that this created difficulties for children and young people across the county, particularly in south Meirionnydd, to reach the court in Caernarfon. It was asked whether there was provision available to ensure transport and support for young people attending the court. In response, it was confirmed that the court seeks to be as accessible as possible, by arranging cases in good time and at times convenient for the individual, having considered their personal situations and what will be possible for them. It was confirmed that 20% of cases were now reaching court case level, due to the work underway across the service for prevention and early intervention.  It was reinforced that they constantly supported the individuals and families. It was confirmed that there was no waiting list for individuals to attend the juvenile justice court. It was noted that this reduced the trauma and impact on the family. 

 

Referring to the recommendation of the Action Plan, which stated that ensuring the presence of senior education and health leaders on the management board, to achieve positive education and health outcomes for children, it was asked whether there were any issues arising with attendance at the board and whether this was having an impact on the output and timetable of the Plan. It was noted that the inspection had identified this as a problem, but that the board's attendance had improved significantly since the publication of the inspection report. It was trusted that attendance levels at board meetings were very high recently, and this would soon be reflected in the report's findings.  

 

It was noted that 121 children were currently open to the service, it was asked how does this compare to previous years? It was explained that the numbers were down compared to statistics about 10 or 15 years ago, but they were noted to be higher now compared to previous recent years. It was explained that this was due to the development of new programmes that focus on prevention and early intervention. It was noted that cases were presented and dealt with much sooner, and individuals were not being criminalised as quickly. It was noted that the justice service worked very closely with the Families First and Post 16 teams, to ensure that they carry out assessments and offer support at the right time, through constant collaboration. 

 

It was highlighted that 80% of the service's workload was now preventative work. The type of work that was part of the work programmes was detailed, particularly the increasing use of virtual reality. It was noted that the use of virtual reality was very successful and often led to successful intervention. It was explained that the device created the use of interactive games to show the possible situations and scenarios that may arise as a result of individuals' decisions and actions. It was noted that it focused on the element of storytelling to encourage young people to make the right moral choice. It was noted that this element had contributed to the building of good relationships between the children and young people and their supporters, whilst building trust, in line with the Child First strategy. 

 

The developmental methods used with more complex criminal cases, such as abuse, rape and knife crimes, were elaborated on, noting that the virtual reality devices were very effective. It was explained that the young people can play games while making different decisions to see which decision will lead to the best result. It was noted that they learnt a lot through this approach and that it was groundbreaking work in the field. 

 

In response to a question, it was confirmed that violence and drug use was the biggest challenge currently facing the service. It was explained that the use of social media in promoting and aiding violence was also very challenging. It was noted that the department was working closely with the police and various different agencies in order to tackle this. It was noted that the number of cases were rising where groups film violent incidents and post these on-line on social media. This was highlighted as leading to an increase in bullying among children and young people. With this, it was explained that the service was doing work to ensure that children and young people were aware that they were accountable to the law if they were involved in a violent crime when filming events as part of a criminal group. It was emphasised that drugs were a major problem in the community which causes a large number of safeguarding cases.  

 

It was asked if the service was going around the county's schools and colleges to teach young people about the implications of a life of crime, and the importance of staying safe. It was confirmed that the service was working very closely with the police to co-ordinate various incidents within schools. It was explained that officers work closely with School Liaison Officers and also attend hubs within schools to see a specific cohort of pupils. It was elaborated that the officer would then provide an introduction or curriculum to address the problem with the young people. It is hoped that there would soon be an opportunity to hold a full day of community safety activities in conjunction with other agencies. The importance of funding SLO officers in the schools was emphasised, especially in the areas that posed the greatest risk. 

 

It was asked whether there were specific areas concerned with higher levels of anti-social behaviour, drugs and youth crime. It was confirmed that youth violence was linked to poverty and unemployment, and it was noted that a lack of opportunities also drove crime. Some of the most affected areas were outlined by the service, namely Holyhead, Llangefni, Caernarfon and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Concern was also expressed about the villages in Gwynedd, and a desire was expressed for more data on these cases. 

The service was thanked for their work, and the department was praised for their dedication. It was acknowledged that the report was rather lengthy and complex to analyse, and committee members were invited to visit the offices to chat with staff and see the work going on for themselves. 

 

 

DECISION 

 

1.    To accept the report.  

2.    To express concern that there are no resources to provide speech and language support. 

3.    To ask the Cabinet Member for Children and Families to correspond with the government asking them to consider ensuring that the appropriate resources are available to provide speech and language support to young people in the justice system.