To recommend the Youth Justice Plan for approval by Council.

Mr Phil Kendrick from the West Mercia Youth Offending Service presented the draft Youth Justice Plan, setting out how youth justice services across West Mercia are structured and resourced and identifying key actions to address identified risks to service delivery and improvement. It was noted that two factors likely to be influencing offending rates in Herefordshire were the sustained higher detection rates and lower than average use of community resolution options.

In response to a question from a member in attendance Mr Kendrick advised that the evidence did not suggest that  the reduction in universal youth services such as traditional youth clubs was a cause in the numbers of young people offending. It was however important to ensure that young people had access to the services they needed; the difficulties in recruiting and retaining volunteers in this area were noted.

RESOLVED THAT: the Youth Justice Plan (at Appendix A) is recommended to Council for approval