Public Bodies Bill [Lords]

The hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) is slightly confusing the very necessary and important independence of the courts with the status of a body such as the Youth Justice Board. The Executive are, and must be, accountable to Parliament for the efficient provision of things such as custody and alternatives to custody. They may choose to do this by way of a semi-independent or arm's length body, but that is much more an administrative decision than a decision about judicial independence, for example. The two concepts are different and should not be confused. I rise to underline and clarify the points made by the Justice Committee in its 10th report, which was published on 23 November, just after midnight. In that report, we set out our concerns about what would happen if the Youth Justice Board was abolished and what the Ministry of Justice would have to do in order to ensure that youth justice got the focus that the YJB had given it in the good work that it had done. We also set out what needs to happen in the circumstances in which we now find ourselves, whereby the Government have taken the decision not to abolish the YJB. Our concern was that one of the YJB's weak points—perhaps the only one that came out strongly in evidence—was that quite a lot of people working in the sector felt that it was too ““top down”” in its approach to youth offending teams. The success that we have seen in the youth justice field has been achieved by youth offending teams bringing together every agency at local level and working together. That has been encouraged and supported by the YJB. However, the YJB itself told us that its oversight of youth offending teams will be lighter touch in future and that it is working to"““promote peer support and allow more room for professional judgement””." That lesson needs to be learned. Indeed, when the Minister gave evidence to us, he gave examples from his own experience to underline that that approach was necessary. He also set out his own case for having greater ministerial accountability and greater ministerial awareness of what the YJB is doing. The Youth Justice Board will continue. Many people will welcome that because it has provided a very specific focus and enabled things to be achieved in the youth justice field that have not been achieved in the rest of the criminal justice system. There has been a much better understanding of where to strike a balance between custody and alternatives to custody in youth justice than in other fields. There has also been much better local co-operation between the various agencies that deal with young people. We need to build on those experiences. I wish the board well in the future. However, I underline the point that the Select Committee made in its report and hope that Ministers have noted it.