Youth offending teams plan mergers to deal with budget reductions
Neil Puffett
Monday, June 11, 2012
A number of youth offending teams are planning to merge as a response to ongoing cuts to services, a CYP Now survey has revealed.
The survey of youth offending team (YOT) managers, reveals that two amalgamations of YOTs are under consideration.
One involves a group of YOTs in the north west and is planned for October 2012. The other is a group in West Mercia – an area made up of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.
The YJB said that as the mergers are not yet official, it will not comment on them, but chief executive John Drew said the board is aware of “changes to the structures of a number of YOTs”.
These include increased use of shared services; co-operative working between neighbouring YOTs; more flexible use of staff; reductions in management overheads; and local restructures of YOT operational teams.
"We support localism and recognise that a number of local areas will want to develop new structures in response to the challenges they currently face,” Drew said.
“It is important to ensure that the new arrangements do not make youth justice outcomes more difficult to achieve.
“We are monitoring the developments with interest and are keen to learn from the best examples.
“The Youth Justice Board's primary focus is on making sure that youth justice outcomes are delivered as successfully as they have been in the past and continue to improve."
The planned mergers would follow the recently established tri-borough children’s services arrangement in London involving Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea.
While some authorities are considering mergers, others have decided to split into smaller areas.
The YJB confirmed that after the Isle of White separated from Wessex YOT last year, Wessex has subsequently split into Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton.
