Parents and guardians could face increased accountability for their children’s law-breaking under new proposals for the youth justice system.
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy is leading a significant overhaul, outlined in a new Youth Justice White Paper published on Monday.
The reforms aim to deter young people from a life of crime by placing greater responsibility on parents and carers whose children commit offences or engage in anti-social behaviour.
A key element of the plan involves strengthening parenting orders. These legal instruments currently allow parents to be mandated into counselling or guidance to address their child’s conduct, or face financial penalties.
The Ministry of Justice highlighted a dramatic decline in the use of these orders, plummeting from over a thousand in 2009/10 to just 33 in the last financial year (2022/23).
According to the Telegraph newspaper, the desire to strengthen parental orders comes in the wake of the inquiry into the Southport stabbings, and could result in jail time for parents whose children break the law.
Alongside the greater role for parents, Mr Lammy also plans to pilot new youth intervention courts, which will bring together judges and support services to tackle issues which are drawing young people into crime.
The courts will also supervise young offenders, and give them tailored health and education interventions to help them avoid a life of crime.
Mr Lammy said: “Too many young people are being drawn into crime, with devastating consequences for victims, communities and their own futures.
“These reforms lay the foundation to intervene far earlier, support families, and tackle the drivers of offending so fewer young people become trapped in cycles of crime, creating safer streets and fewer victims.”
Elsewhere in the plans championed by Mr Lammy are proposals to invest £15.4 million per year in a programme which will help 12,000 children at risk of entering the youth justice system over the next three years.
The White Paper could also lead to the end of people having to disclose criminal convictions from when they were children throughout their lives.
Offences which took place in childhood have hampered the life chances of some people even into their 60s.
Mr Lammy plans to launch a consultation on childhood criminal records which could end the lifelong disclosure requirement.
Justice minister Jake Richards said: “Put simply, the youth justice system is not working – not for children, victims and communities blighted by crime.
“These reforms will modernise the system, keep pace with emerging risks and ensure young offenders get the support they need turn their lives around, while improving public safety.”
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “As Children’s Commissioner, I have consistently been clear about the need to reform the youth justice system. We must build an approach that keeps children safe, diverts them from crime wherever possible, and prioritises meaningful behaviour change.
“Education is central to this. It is the most powerful tool we have to prevent offending in the first place, and it remains vital for those in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) who have already fallen through the cracks.
“I am therefore pleased to welcome the Youth Justice White Paper published today, and that I have been asked to undertake a review of the education children in YOIs receive, with the aim of improving outcomes and giving these children a better chance for the future.”
The Conservatives meanwhile cast doubt on the Government’s ability to reform youth justice.
Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, said: “Whatever Labour say today they have already shown they don’t have it in their DNA to be tough on crime.
“They’ve let thousands of prisoners early and abolished short term sentences – so most perpetrators of knife crime who have been sent to prison in the past few years will escape a custodial sentence in future.
“This goes to show the problem with this government is not Starmer – it’s Labour. This country needs a strong Conservative government that will back our police, lock up criminals and crack down on crime.”
