News

We are pleased to report that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has recognised the time commitment given by our members to responding to the many consultation documents that come out of central Government. It has agreed to provide short term funding to enable AYM to continue to coordinate responses from youth justice managers. The funding will enable us to build a stronger infrastructure of support for our executive members, who continue to balance their support for AYM with the demands of their day jobs. The grant funding is for the remainder of 2023-4 only, and comes with the caveat that AYM continues to act with complete independence as the voice of its members.

Further information is contained in a joint letter from our chair, Jacqui Belfield-Smith and Alan Webster, Deputy Director of MoJ’s Youth Justice Policy Unit, which can be read here.

Youth Custody Service Executive Director, Ed Cornmell recently responded to a letter sent by AYM giving feedback on changes made within the children and young people secure estate. You can read Ed’s letter here and the original AYM letter here.

Alan Webster, the Deputy Director of Youth Justice Policy at the Ministry of Justice has written to the AYM about the changes to high end youth community sentences and the pilot taking place to encourage their use as an alternative to custody.

Read the full letter here.

The YJB have agreed to extend the deadline for the submission of the new Youth Justice Key Performance Indicator data after the Association of YOT Managers (AYM) England and YOT Managers Cymru (YMC) Wales sent a joint letter requesting the extension on behalf of their members.

Data submissions for the KPIs for quarter one data are now due to be submitted along with quarter two data at the end of October 2023.

In her letter, Steph Roberts-Bibby, Interim Chief Executive says:

“We appreciate the pressures faced by services during a period of significant change and whilst recognising the importance of this data collection, we hope the extension will support you in these exceptional circumstances. Thank you to those services and the Association of YOT Managers (AYM) and YOT Managers Cymru (YMC) who provided feedback to us on this subject.”

To read the full letter, please click here.

The Association of YOT Managers (AYM) England and YOT Managers Cymru (YMC) Wales have sent a joint letter to the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in relation to the submission of New Youth Justice Key Performance Indicator data.

“Collectively we request that the requirement to submit Quarter 1 data on new KPIs be postponed until the end of October and be submitted alongside Quarter 2 data, this will provide valuable time for YOTs to familiarise themselves with the Data Extract process, ensure accurate data submission and relieve some pressures from YOT staff in what will be a very busy period.”

The full letter can be read here.

 

 

 

 

 

We are pleased to announce winners of the 2022 John Hawkins Award:

Bradford and District Youth Justice Service
SPARKS! Project

SPARKS! is a summer activity programme that aims to inspire
young people with new hobbies, encourage learning and support
for those at risk of being exploited into criminal activities.
The project provides good, nutritious meals and aims to ‘spark’
new interests into those participating. This is the second year of
SPARKS! so the project shows sustainability and to date 65
young people have participated