Contribution
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Oates, for introducing the Bill and for giving the House the opportunity to consider, once again, the future of youth justice. The noble Lord’s intentions are entirely understandable, as set out in his opening remarks. We all want a youth justice system that is effective, properly resourced and focused on the welfare of children. We know that many young people who come into contact with the justice system have experienced trauma, exploitation, poor mental health, family instability and other forms of disadvantage. Any successful youth justice system must recognise those realities and respond accordingly.
However, speaking from a Welsh perspective, I am not convinced that the restoration of powers to the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales fits the constitutional context in which we now find ourselves. Earlier this year, the UK Government and the Welsh Government published an agreement on youth justice and probation, committing to an expanded and clearly defined role for the Welsh Government. More recently, the White Paper Cutting Youth Crime. Changing Young Lives again pointed towards greater Welsh oversight of aspects of youth justice funding and delivery. The conversation in Wales is therefore increasingly about how responsibility can better align with devolved services and, ultimately, how youth justice itself should be devolved.
The debate is not principally about restoring functions to the English or Welsh bodies, or a model of that kind. From Plaid Cymru’s perspective, the long-term destination remains clear. We believe that justice, including youth justice, should be fully devolved to Wales. The services most closely connected to preventing youth offending and supporting vulnerable children, including education, health and social care, are already devolved, and it is increasingly difficult to justify retaining responsibility for youth justice at Westminster while so many of the services that shape outcomes for children are the responsibility of Welsh public bodies.
The experience in Wales demonstrates the value of that approach. Through the Welsh Youth Justice Blueprint, partners have pursued a child-first, rights-based, trauma-informed model, focused on prevention, diversion and community support. The results are noteworthy. In 2022-23, 667 children in Wales received a caution or sentence, which is equivalent to 2.3 children per 1,000 of the population aged 10 to 17. Although that figure was unchanged from the previous year, it represents a reduction of 74% compared with 2013-14. Those figures suggest that there is real merit in approaches that seek to intervene earlier and, wherever possible, keep children away from the justice system.
Against that backdrop, I would welcome some clarification from the Minister in his response. The Government have indicated that the Welsh Government will assume a stronger role in youth justice and that responsibility for certain funding streams will transfer to Welsh oversight. Can the Minister explain what that means in practice? Which funding streams are proposed for transfer and what proportion of overall youth justice expenditure in Wales do they represent? Will the funding be recurring and protected for the future? More importantly, what additional powers will Welsh Ministers possess as a result? What decisions will they be able to take in April 2027 that they cannot take today? Will they have genuine discretion to set priorities and direct resources according to Welsh needs, or will they simply become responsible for administering the funding determined elsewhere?
The distinction matters because a transfer of administration is not the same as a transfer of authority or accountability. One of the clearest challenges within the system in Wales remains the use of remand. If Wales is to have greater responsibility for youth justice funding, will Welsh Ministers have the flexibility to invest in alternatives to remand and other preventative measures that reflect the child-first principles of the Welsh Youth Justice Blueprint?
For me, the mission should be focused on early intervention and prevention. If Welsh Ministers are expected to play a larger role in youth justice delivery, they should have the ability to establish community alternatives to remand. Therefore, while I welcome the questions that this Bill raises, I remain of the view that the most effective and democratically accountable solution is the full devolution of justice, including youth justice, to Wales. I look forward to the rest of the debate and the Minister’s response.