Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  To note that no Reserve Members had been nominated to attend the meeting.

An apology for absence had been received from Mr Ransley.

In connection with Agenda Item 3 (Youth Justice Plan 2018-19), Councillor Jean Lammiman declared a non-pecuniary interest in that she is a Governor of Shaftesbury School.  She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon. 

In connection with Agenda Item 3 (Youth Justice Plan 2018-19), Councillor Chris Mote declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he had previously served as a magistrate in Hillingdon dealing with offences by young people.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Report of the Divisional Director (Interim), Children and Young People Services

The Committee received a report setting out the draft Youth Justice Plan for 2018-19 and inviting comments before its consideration at Cabinet and full Council.  Councillor Christine Robson, the Portfolio Holder for Young People and Schools, introduced the report, explaining that this was an annual requirement as part of a framework established nationally by the Youth Justice Board.  The draft report outlined the work of the local Youth Offending Team and its plans for the future; priority objectives included reducing the number of first-time offenders and addressing the increase in serious violent crime affecting young people, particularly knife crime. The plan also sought to address the complex needs of some young people involved in the criminal justice system.

The Interim Corporate Director, People Services underlined that he welcomed the Committee’s comments on the draft plan as meaningful consultation with scrutiny councillors was important before the full Council considered the formal adoption of its proposals.  He referred to comments and questions received in advance of the meeting which would be addressed in updates to the draft plan along with the comments to be made at the meeting. 

The Head of Service, Early Support and Youth Offending Service then gave a detailed explanation of the key aspects of the plan, referring in particular to the executive summary of the plan (Page 15 of the agenda); he highlighted the principal priorities as reduction in the number of first-time offenders, responding to the increase in serious violent crime affecting young people (including knife crime), tackling the involvement of young people in drug-related crime, both the use and supply of drugs, and addressing the longer term needs of young people affected by criminality.  He underlined the alignment of the draft plan with the Community Safety and Violence, Vulnerability and Exploitation Strategy, and the reliance on effective partnership with a range of other organisations; the input of Harrow Youth Parliament and the Young Harrow Foundation was an important element in developing meaningful proposals for action.  The Head of Service was pleased to report that there was now a stable staff group in place in the Youth Offending Team; they had the skills and abilities to deliver high quality services to young people.  The service was nevertheless keen to seek improvements and to this end, an independent auditor had been commissioned to review its work and effectiveness.  A tool called Asset Plus was also available to help identify and manage risks and vulnerabilities. The Head of Service concluded by underlining the importance of local community action groups in delivering locally-focused services. 

A Member raised concerns about the age of data in the plan, some of which dated back to March 2017.  He questioned whether, in the light of the changing circumstances of youth crime recently, the plans developed on the basis of that data would be effective. He was also concerned about the apparent contradictions in some of the data.  The Head of Business Intelligence explained that the Youth Justice Board template was used and this meant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.