Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to respond to the report from the Prison Reform Trust In care, out of trouble; and whether they will publish an assessment of the position of children in care within the criminal justice system.

Lord Nash

As at 31 March 2015, five per cent of 10-17 year olds who had been in care for a year or more had been convicted of an offence or were subject to a final warning or reprimand.[1] Proven offending by young people, including looked after children has fallen significantly in recent years. Since the peak in youth offending in 2007, proven youth offending is down 79%; first-time entrants to the youth justice system are down 82%. Youth offending teams work with the police and other agencies to prevent looked after children from offending and coming in to contact with the youth justice system.

The Government has asked Sir Martin Narey to review residential care for looked after children and he will make recommendations on criminalisation. Charlie Taylor is leading a review of youth justice. We will respond to those reviews in due course.

I am grateful to the Prison Reform Trust for their contribution to this important debate. The Minister of State for Children and Families recently met with Lord Laming to discuss the contents of the Prison Reform Trust’s report ‘In care, out of trouble’.

[1] Department for Education Statistical First Release – 34/2015