Improving Outcomes- Remand Management and the new age of Financial Responsibility Eleanor Schooling

1. Improving Outcomes- Remand Management and the new age of Financial ResponsibilityEleanor Schooling 15 March 2013

2. Youth Offending In London one year on • HMIP report on London core case inspections • Work together to • Improve the quality of assessments • Deliver high quality interventions • Protect the public • Protect young people • Financial context • Devolution of remand • Financial stringency

3. Context: Legal Aid Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 • Cost of Remands Devolved to L.As with 15%-26% cut • MOJ have dropped this cut and with a new cut of 26%! This covers a reduction in the number of young people on remand in YOIs, calculated by comparing figures from April 2011 – March 2012 with figures from April 2012 – November 2012. There is no area adjustment for this. • Our initial calculations suggested that the proposed 15% cut would leave London with a shortfall of at least £1.5m, and the new proposals will clearly be significantly worse. • The extension of looked after children status to all young people on remand would lead to substantial costs to local authorities, which had been significantly underestimated in the MOJ’s funding proposals.

4. Context: Legal Aid Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 • Total budget for LAC costs has increased from £2.7m to £3.5m • This will not fully meet local authority costs, and still represents a significant underestimate • The MOJ have still not clarified the formula they are using to calculate these figures • Overall, the result of the consultation period appears to be a reduction in total devolved funding from £21.9m to £20.2m. In London, the reduction is almost £1m • 2000+ 11-17yr olds could become looked after • More Assessments and Plans and opportunities for duplication - we can’t have 46 professionals involved in one child's plan (Munroe) • No Guidance

5. 61% of young people remanded do not receive a custodial sentence

6. Challenges London YOTs need to improve: • Quality of assessments and planning and how this informs interventions • Protection of the public: risk assessments too low: rule of optimism • Protection of YP: more partnership regarding safeguarding and we see YP as too resilient. • More assessments and Plans and opportunities for duplication- rather than making offending central to all plans • Workforce challenges

7. Opportunities • Devolution and Localism are unique opportunities: How do we respond and ensure that we learn from each other? • Embed Stronger Families Programme and maximise payment by results- work with the whole family rather than YP in isolation • Divert young people from offending, repeat offending and custody- Triage, Integrated plans with clear outcomes and use of MST and Education, Training and Employment and Remand/Treatment Fostering • Improve joint working with adult services- Especially those graduating to Probation with learning and mental health difficulties

8. Thoughts and Observations • We need to make sure that we maximise all opportunities- it is difficult given the speed and scale of reforms but long term outcomes for many YP in Criminal Justice system remain poor and too predictable. • We are all in this together and NEW HMIP inspection framework now places responsibility on all partner organisations from Police to Education. • Troubled families is not a new service, its about doing things well through a clearer family focused lens. • The myth of safeguarding meaning something different to YOTs and to CSC.

9. Where could we be next year? • Less advocacy for the young person more as part of a family • Troubled families approach embedded, 2/3 in custody are TF • All partners properly help to account • Less unrealistic expectations leading to poor practice • MASH and other multi agency practice • High number of homer visits could it be 86% for us all? • Better co-ordination and co-operation on transfers between YOTs