Youth Justice

Andrew Pakes Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I say very gently to the hon. Gentleman that we can do both. We can improve education in our youth custody system—I entirely accept that there is more to do, particularly coming out of covid and particularly because of chronic under-investment by his party—but I encourage him to think a bit harder about the remand population. There is, of course, tremendous churn among the 400 young people who are currently in custody, and therefore we are not talking about a sliver of 25%, adding up to 135. That is not the case. It is significantly more than that, because over the course of a year, it gets into the thousands of young people. [Interruption.] He shakes his head, but that is basic maths.

[Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the White Paper and put on record my thanks both to my right hon. Friend and to the Minister for youth justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Jake Richards), for their work on this issue. One of the most heartbreaking things I have to do as a Member of Parliament is meet families and young people who have been failed by the system after those young people have taken actions that have caused disturbance for their families and the wider community. Accountability matters, but one of the crushing realities I have learned as an MP is that state failure plays a large part in criminality and the lack of options for young people. Can my right hon. Friend reassure me that youth intervention courts and other measures will begin to address not just criminality and the lack of accountability, but the lack of opportunity in training, caring, support, education and—particularly in my patch—apprenticeships, so that we divert people from prison in the first place and those in custody have opportunities when they come out?

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and of course I know his city of Peterborough very well. Peterborough has a vibrant third sector, and we have to get it involved in offering opportunities to young people in the community. There is no doubt that there are lots of skills and training opportunities in Peterborough and the whole of East Anglia, and we want young people to take them up.