Wales Youth Justice Advisory Panel: 14 July 2025

Attendees in person                   

• Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip (CS), Welsh Government 
• Mike Connolly (co-Chair), Welsh Government 
• Karin Phillips  (co-Chair), Youth Justice Board
• Darren Trollope (DT), Youth Justice Board
• Mark Cox (MC), Youth Justice Board 
• Keith Fraser (KF),  Youth Justice Board 
• Stephanie Roberts-Bibby (SRB), Youth Justice Board
• Sasha Yilmaz (SY), Welsh Government
• Kirsty Davies (KD), YOT Managers Cymru (YMC)
• Paul Morris (PM), Police Liaison Unit 
• Kate Williams (KW),  Academic representative  
• David Richmond (DR), Youth Custody Service (YCS)
• Sarah Evans (SE), Welsh Government 
• Helen Nolan (HN), Welsh Government 
• Lynzi Jarman (LJ), Welsh Government
• James Gerard (JG), Welsh Government
• Martyn Gunter (MG), Welsh Government
• Sarah Day (SD), Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru (ADSS)

Attending on Teams

• Minister Dakin, Minister for Justice, Ministry of Justice
• Rachel Morgan, Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA)
• Stephen Wood, YOT Managers Cymru (YMC)
• Jay McCabe, YOT Managers Cymru (YMC)
• Gill Adams, YOT Managers Cymru (YMC)
• James White, The Association of Directors of Education in Wales (ADEW)
• DCC Nicola Brain, Gwent Police
• Dafydd Llywelyn, PCC Dyfed Powys 
• Eleri Thomas, Deputy PCC Gwent 
• Alan Webster, Ministry of Justice 
• James Warr, YOT Managers Cymru
• Mark Brace, Safer Communities Network 
• Julie Davies, Head of Child and Family Services for Swansea City Council
• Alison Lott, Welsh Government 

Apologies 

• Rocio Cifuentes, Children’s Commissioner for Wales 
• Michelle Davies, NHS Health Board representative
• Mark Shephard, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)
• Daniel Jones, Wales Violence Prevention Unit (VPU)
• Lucy Peates, HMPPS
• Surinder Randhawa, HMCTS
• Tim Melville, Youth Magistrates
• Christine Harley, HMPPS

KP welcomed members to the meeting of the Wales Youth Justice Advisory Panel (WYJAP).

KP advised members the meeting was going to be recorded and to raise a hand if there were any objections. There were no objections.

KP welcomed Minister Dakin to the meeting and new member Tim Melville, the Youth Magistrates in Wales representative. Tim has joined the Panel following David Davies’ decision to step down from the Panel. KP thanked David for his participation on the Panel for several years. 

KP also welcomed Sarah Day from the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS) Cymru and Julie Davies, Head of Child and Family Services for Swansea City Council. KP confirmed Julie would be the representative at WYJAP. 

KP thanked Lynzi Jarman, who has now moved from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) to a new role of Head of Youth Justice Devolution in Welsh Government, and welcomed Paula Williams, the new Director of Operations, YJB, Wales.

KP advised the Panel that her Co-Chair Mike Connolly was supporting the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip at the Equality and Social Justice Committee Joint Scrutiny Session on Criminal Justice and planned to join the meeting later with the Cabinet Secretary.

Apologies were noted.

Keith Fraser, YJB Chair

KF explained there was a strong connection between the YJB and WYJAP priorities. He highlighted the priorities across England and Wales, these included:

• supporting and improving youth justice services
• reducing overrepresentation in the criminal justice system, particularly for children from ethnic minority backgrounds
• adoption of child first approaches and having a child first system

KF explained a child first approach was needed to be inclusive of all children and for support to be made available for all children that interact with the justice system. He provided an example from an English Youth Justice Service (YJS), which identified there had been an increase in confidence and trust from the public in relation to youth justice services. 

Minister Nic Dakin, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice

The Minister reflected on his visit to Wales in March and commended the leadership at Hillside Secure Children’s Home (SCH) and the trauma responsive child first approach. He highlighted the innovative culture within the multi-agency model at Carmarthenshire YJS and the work being undertaken by the Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales on diversion. 

He informed the Panel that the Lord Chancellor and Deputy First Minister had met in June to discuss the UK Government’s manifesto commitment in relation to the exploration of justice devolution. He added that he had since met with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip (CS) and agreed to start a programme of work regarding the devolution of youth justice to Wales.

Partnership with Policing 

DL advised the Panel since its last meeting, each of the Police forces in Wales were undertaking a self-assessment in terms of child centred policing approaches and structures regarding the Bureau. He stated he had chaired the first meeting of the Steering Group, overseeing the two workstreams which had also been established namely the Policing review workstream led by Phil O’Connell of Gwent Police and the Bureau review workstream led by Darren Trollope of the YJB. PM advised that the Police Liaison Unit (PLU) was supporting the work and also working on the development of a data dashboard to aid the management of information being collected.  

KW and SD raised questions regarding the quality and type of data being collected and KP requested that they provided specific examples of gaps within data to help inform future WYJAP meetings. DT referenced the new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and noted they would provide a more detailed picture of performance going forward.  

DL added through the recent Home Office funding and planned Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, work was planned to take place over the Summer to deliver visible Police presence within communities. 

In response to the comment from KF regarding the importance of learning taking place between the adult and youth justice, ET explained Criminal Justice in Wales (CJiW) members had recently held a development day on adult justice and posed the question if there was benefit to replicate a development day on youth justice and inviting members of CJiW to ensure criminal justice, adult justice and children’s services were represented. KP welcomed the proposal and ET and PW agreed to take the action forward. 

Action point 1: KP requested that KW and SD provided specific examples of gaps within data to help inform future WYJAP.

Action point 2: ET and PW to propose to CJiW for a development day on youth justice to take place.

Partnership with education 

MG provided an overview of Welsh Government policy area Equity in Education.  He explained this included a range of policies including ones on attendance, behaviour and exclusions, mental health and wellbeing and anti-bullying. Other key areas included Community Focused Schools, this promoted and supported multi-agency working and community and family engagement. A significant part of that work had been tackling the barriers of poverty. 

The headline school attendance rate currently stands at 91 percent, a 1 percent improvement from the previous year. However, it was below the pre-pandemic rate of 94 percent. The First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education have committed to return to pre-pandemic rates and among the initiatives to take the issue, the Welsh Government is investing of around £30 million this year on supporting community Focused Schools approaches, with over £13 million for community engagement activities, including £9.5 million specifically to recruit and retain Family Engagement officers. 

Welsh Government held a National Behaviour Summit on 22 May. At the end of the event, the Cabinet Secretary for Education set out 5 immediate actions to improve behaviour in schools. 

• Create the structures needed to support multi-agency working to help organisations to come together to tackle the societal issues that contribute to challenging behaviour.
• Guidance for schools to be updated to ensure there is more clarity and consistency across Wales.
• Establish a system for sharing best practice between schools, locally and nationally, taking lessons from approaches to preventing violence which are currently being tested in schools.
• Develop professional learning opportunities focused on behaviour management techniques and de-escalation and intervention techniques, and ensuring consistent definitions and reporting of instances. 
• Clear data sets at local authority and national level. 

MG advised a summary report from both the National Behaviour Summit and Roundtable on Violence and Safety in Schools was due to be published in the coming weeks and agreed to share with the Panel. 

SW presented on the following points on behalf of the YJS:

• key performance indicators
• issues, barriers and concerns
• understanding the cohort
• role of Education and Employment Officer (ETEO)
• the response of the YJS

Full details of the presentation included as Annex A of the minutes. 

In response to SW’s presentation, SBR explained the YJB were undertaking work to engage with statutory partners in England and Wales to strengthen partnership working at the local, regional and national level. 

Several comments were received from the Panel, these included:

• MP questioned if Welsh Government colleagues were working with ESTYN. MG advised they were and agreed to share a recently published ESTYN report on behaviour in schools with the Panel.
• Consideration to be given to Children Looked After (CLA) due to high level of CLA in the youth justice system. 
• Ensuring the services being provided to individuals are the correct ones and the ordering of priority of services are also correct. 
• Need to take into consideration that a child feels as though they matter and belong and that they are welcome to be part of the school environment.  
• Consider opportunities to manage challenges and offer support to a younger school age group. 
• Consider the effectiveness of trauma informed schools and restorative approaches in schools. 
• Share good practice across all schools in Wales. 

DR requested a brief synopsis of the youth justice issues identified.  He also highlighted the benefit of involving other youth justice partners with the work, particularly as it was also relevant to the secure estate. DR offered to share contact details of relevant colleagues within the Youth Custody Service with MG. KP agreed for a synopsis to be produced to include key issues from a youth justice perspective, what is being done and identify the gaps.  She added this was the beginning of a piece of work and the role of WYJAP was fundamental to collectively take forward the work to explore the options to resolve the issues identified. 

Action point 3: MG to share summary report from both the National Behaviour Summit and roundtable on Violence and Safety in Schools when published. 

Action point 4: synopsis of youth justice issues to be produced. To include what work is being done and identifying the gaps. 

Action point 5: MG agreed to share the published ESTYN report on behaviour in schools.

Action point 6: DR agreed to share contact details of relevant colleagues within the Youth Custody Service with MG. 

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip joined the meeting and provided an update on the youth justice landscape in Wales. Key points included;

• Publication of the Blueprints in 2019 alongside a 5-year implementation plan in collaboration with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Services, Ministry of Justice, Policing in Wales, the Youth Justice Board and third-sector partners. 
• Oral Statement was delivered on 17 June on the Blueprints to mark their progress to date and look to the future of this important work.
• As of April 2025, the Blueprints had moved into a new delivery phase, building on the existing framework and continued to embed best practice, maintaining a joined-up approach acknowledging the specific needs of women and children, promoting positive wellbeing and supporting successful long-term outcomes to reduce reoffending.
• Over the last fifteen years, there has been a dramatic and sustained decline in the number of children offending and being brought into the formal criminal justice system in Wales. There had also been a significant reduction in the number of children receiving custodial outcomes. 
• The Youth Justice Board Annual Statistics show a continued positive trend of fewer children entering the youth justice system, with the number of first-time entrants into the youth justice system in Wales down from 1,386 in 2013, to 422 young people in 2023. 
• Joint governance arrangements had provided a structure for direction and oversight for implementation of the Blueprint. The Youth Justice Board provided senior leadership, owing to their specific expertise over the years. Moving forward, greater emphasis will be placed on continuing to strengthen the role of the Panel.
• A Youth Justice Prevention Framework to support children at risk of entering the criminal justice system was published 17 June. The Framework provides a single view of what works to prevent offending, and how we are supporting vulnerable children towards fulfilling, crime-free lives.
• Promoting Positive Engagement funds provide preventative and diversionary support for children at risk of entering and for those already within the youth justice system. 
• A current priority is to work with the UK Government on their manifesto commitment to consider the devolution of youth justice to Wales. The Deputy First Minister and Lord Chancellor recently met and agreed that work should commence at pace to explore initial options. Alongside this work on the future of devolution in Wales, it is vital to continue to take forward work in partnership to improve the functioning of the current system, building on existing achievements. 

AW provided an update on Young Future Hubs. He advised legislative work was ongoing, namely the creation of a criminal offence in relation to the exploitation of children. AW confirmed there is UK Government investment in terms of policy development and financial support.

A phased approach was being taken in relation to Prevention Partnerships. UK Government have written to the 20 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to ask to nominate at least one local authority area. AW confirmed an announcement was due on prevention hubs and discussions had taken place with Welsh Government colleagues as to the most appropriate approach to take in Wales in taking forward the hubs.

The independent report of the review of the YJB commissioned by Minister Dakin had been completed by Steve Crocker and while the recommendations were being considered, the review of all arms-length bodies had to be considered. AW advised an update would be provided in due course. 

In response to AW update, MC confirmed Welsh Government had been working closely with the Home Office. A pilot is due to take place within the local authorities the South Wales VRU and another pilot in North Wales within a non-VRU area to enable lessons learned on the ‘panel’ element of the Prevention Partnerships programme. MC advised a Welsh stakeholder working group was going to be established jointly chaired by the Home Office, VPU and Welsh Government. With regards to Young Futures Hubs, MC informed the Panel Welsh Government were engaged with Department for Education to encourage a Welsh Stakeholder Group. 

The Panel agreed the minutes of the previous meeting to be a true and accurate record. Actions were noted. 

In relation to action point 4 - Youth Justice Blueprint narrative to be shared with the Panel once agreed. SY confirmed that it was more fruitful to have a specific agenda item at the next meeting of the Panel focused on updates in the Blueprints space, rather than just sharing the narrative. KP added a lesson learned on the Youth Justice Blueprint was also to be added to the agenda. 

Action point 7: Secretariat to add Youth Justice Blueprint to the October agenda which will include a general update, Youth Justice Blueprint narrative and lessons learned.

KW advised the Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice was formalising arrangements with Welsh Government and this including asking academics and officials to inform each other when there was use of academic publications. KW requested when academics work was being used within Welsh Government documents if the author could be made aware of how and where it was used. KW advised she would report any updates on use of publications to WYJAP and Welsh Government. 

KW requested feedback on the research commissioned by Welsh Government regarding devolution be shared with the Panel either through an oral or written update. 

Action point 8: The Panel to receive updates on the use of academic publications. 

Action point 9: Research undertaken on devolution of youth justice to be shared with the Panel on a quarterly basis. 

SW informed the Panel the Children’s Commissioning Consortium Cymru (4Cs) no longer had responsibility for leading the work on the decriminalisation of Children Looked After (CLA). He explained the YJS had committed support and data and while he had been asked to Chair the Steering Group going forward, he shared his concerns that there was potential for the group to lose focus on the work. He requested the support of the Panel and advised he would report back at the next meeting. KW offered to work with SW and KP confirmed the support of Panel. 

Action point 10: SW to feedback on the position of the work relating to the decriminalisation of Children Looked After (CLA). 

KP proposed following clearance of WYJAP minutes at the subsequent meeting they would then be published to share the work of the Panel more widely. There were no objections.

Action point 11: Secretariat to publish WYJAP minutes following agreement by the Panel.