Youth Justice

Baroness Smith of Llanfaes Excerpts

Wednesday 20th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Levitt (Lab)]

My Lords, I pay tribute of course to the noble Lord, Lord McNally, and the Youth Justice Board, which deserves to be congratulated for the work it has done over the last 20 years in relation to reducing youth crime. We have no intention of abolishing the Youth Justice Board. Since it was established, it has made incredibly valued contributions to improving outcomes for children, and there are significant reductions that we can point to the Youth Justice Board for having achieved.

The noble Lord makes the valuable point that, in the years since it was established, children within the justice system now face different challenges and we need to take another look at it. Needs are now much more complex, so the plan is to refocus the Youth Justice Board so that it does what it is really good at, which is driving the continuous improvement of the services.

The Government wish to increase the democratic oversight of some aspects of what the Youth Justice Board is concerned with: funding, accountability and policy. But, as far as the delivery of that is concerned, the intention is that that will remain with the Youth Justice Board because of the excellent work the board does.

[Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (PC)]

My Lords, I welcome the publication of the youth justice system reform and delivery plan. In particular, I welcome the announcement of an expanded and clearly defined role for the Welsh Government, in recognition of the fact that the context has changed considerably in Wales since the current arrangements were put in place in 1998. Does the Minister agree that the recent expansion of Senedd Cymru and the Welsh Government begins a new chapter for devolution? In relation to youth justice, currently the Welsh Government fund up to 64% of youth justice services in Wales. Is it not time to fully devolve youth justice to Wales?