King’s Speech

Baroness Martin of Brockley Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Martin of Brockley (Lab)]

My Lords, I focus my remarks on youth crime. It is a timely subject, coinciding with the publication today of the Government’s excellent White Paper on youth justice.

The youth justice system, built on the foundations of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, has been one of the great, quiet success stories of modern public policy. Since that Act came into force, first-time entrants to the system have fallen by 93%, proven offences by children are down 88% and the number of children in custody has dropped by over 85%. That success does not belong to one party alone. Labour’s 1998 legislation created the architecture, with youth offending teams working locally to prevent and punish, alongside national leadership from the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. Subsequent Governments have maintained that architecture, sustaining those gains. We know what works: local, multidisciplinary teams, early identification and intervention before the justice system gets involved—not ideology, but evidence.

However, today’s White Paper is clear that challenges remain. Eight out of 10 prolific offenders committed their first crime as a child. Two-thirds of children released from custody reoffend within a year, compared with just one-third of those given community sentences. The case for early, community-based intervention could not be clearer. Most recently, the independent evaluation of the turnaround programme found that 93% of children who completed it did not go on to receive a caution or conviction. I therefore welcome the further funding announced for this programme today.

Ministry of Justice analysis shows that reoffending costs this country £18 billion a year. Of that, £1.5 billion is attributable to children and young people alone. Every single pound of that is a pound that we could have saved by acting earlier. However, the gains go far beyond the public finances. Reoffending is not simply a cost to the state but a drain on our national potential. When a young person enters the revolving door of the justice system, we risk losing them—the worker who may never reach their potential, the entrepreneur whose business may never be started and the skills and talent that our economy needs left untapped.

Today’s commitment to consult on reforming childhood criminal records, so that a mistake made at 15 does not track a person for life, speaks directly to this economic argument. A criminal record is one of the most powerful barriers to employment. It significantly reduces the chances of being called to interview, let alone of getting the job. If we are serious about unlocking the potential of every young person, we cannot ask employers to give young people a second chance while the system itself refuses to.

I came to this House with a conviction that the circumstances of your birth should not determine how far you go or what you contribute. Today’s White Paper is a serious, evidence-based response to that challenge. The evidence tells us what works; the economics tell us that it pays. I welcome this White Paper and look forward to working with Ministers on this and other issues to ensure that we deliver on our ambitions for a modern youth justice system that is fit for the future.