Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of young adults aged 18 to 25 years received (a) a pre-sentence report, (b) a maturity assessment alongside a pre-sentence report and (c) an assessment for neuro-disabilities alongside a pre-sentence report in the most recent period for which that information is available.

Young adults aged 18-25 year olds are recognised as a group that has distinct needs, which may include factors such as psychosocial maturation, neurological development or history of acquired brain injury, among other issues.

A detailed assessment is contained within the Offender Assessment System (OASys) and specific screening processes are also used. The Maturity Screening Tool allows practitioners to identify young adult men with lower levels of maturity who are most in need of support.

The Choices and Change Resource Pack can be used with young adult men to support the development of psychosocial maturity. It is important to note that there are a range of accredited programmes available, which young adult men can access if they meet the suitability criteria in terms of risk, need and responsivity factors. The screening tool can be completed at a number of stages, including as a pre-sentence report or as part of sentence planning. An individual’s history, including adverse childhood experiences, can also be noted. This information is recorded on an individual’s case file and shared as necessary.

The number of young adults who received a pre-sentence report between July and September 2020 is outlined in table 1 below:

(1) Excludes breach, deferred sentence and court review reports (for further details please see the guide to offender management statistics at the link below).

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2020

(2) During April to June 2020, the number of cases processed at the criminal courts was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions that were put in place on 23 March 2020 following the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that the impact of these operational restrictions will continue to affect subsequent periods as numbers recover to the levels seen before the pandemic.

(3) Data refers to court reports prepared rather than individuals, therefore, the same individual may be counted more than once.

(4) Age on sentence date.

For part (a) of PQ 166405, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) can only provide figures on the number of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report. The second element of part (a), which requests figures on the proportion of young adults receiving a pre-sentence report, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it involves linking court data with probation data.

The information requested for parts (b) and (c) of PQ 166405 is not collated centrally by the MoJ.

The MoJ does not collect data on the effect of adverse childhood experiences on levels on criminality in young adults who are either charged or sentenced.

The MoJ does not hold any data that would allow us to say what proportion of young adults convicted for serious offences were themselves past victims of the specified offence types