Parents could face bigger fines for child’s crimes under youth justice shake-up

1 hour agoBecky MortonPolitical reporter

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Parents face tougher action if their children commit a crime, under plans to overhaul the youth justice system in England and Wales.

The government is planning to strengthen and expand the use of Parenting Orders, which can compel parents or guardians to address their child’s behaviour, including attending counselling or guidance sessions, or face penalties such as fines.

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) source said the government was proposing to increase the fine for breaching an order beyond the current maximum of £1,000, with new powers to jail parents in the most extreme cases.

However, critics said engaging with parents on a voluntary basis was generally more effective.

The proposal is among the measures set out in a Youth Justice White Paper, which is being published by the government on Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said earlier intervention and support for families would “tackle the drivers of offending so fewer young people become trapped in cycles of crime”.

The government pointed to figures showing eight in 10 prolific offenders in England and Wales committed their first crime as a child, while two-thirds of those released from custody reoffend within a year.

Courts are currently required to consider issuing a Parenting Order where a child under 16 has been convicted of an offence.

They can also consider an order for 16 and 17-year-olds if they believe this would help prevent further offences.

However, the MoJ said the use of Parenting Orders had declined dramatically, from more than 1,000 in 2009/10 to just 33 in 2022/23.

The move comes after the Southport Inquiry Report found that if Axel Rudakubana’s parents had intervened in the years leading up to the 2024 attack, it could have been prevented.

Lammy said the proposals would give judges a “greater range of powers” to use orders to work with parents.

“If a parent has an addiction issue, if a parent is struggling with depression, if a parent is unable to parent… the judge can intervene to make sure that that young person is getting the support that they need and the parent is doing the best that they can,” he told BBC Breakfast.

However, the justice secretary said he would expect the power to jail parents to be used “very, very rarely”.

Jess Mullen, chief executive of the Alliance for Youth Justice, which represents more than 70 organisations, said the decline in use of Parenting Orders was largely because engaging with parents on a voluntary basis had been found to be more effective in building trusting relationships and providing support.

She questioned how putting parents in prison would provide “stability or support for the child”.

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Other proposals include piloting new Youth Intervention Courts, bringing together judges, youth justice services and specialist support to help tackle the root causes of offending.

The MoJ said the courts would provide intensive supervision and tailored interventions, including health or educational requirements, alongside close monitoring of compliance.

There is also a focus on reducing the use of custodial sentences in favour of community sentences.

The plan commits to ending “unnecessary” custodial remand for children, where someone is held in prison while they await trial of sentencing.

The government is promising to reduce the practice by 25% before the next election to ensure children are not held unless public protection requires it.

It said these measures could reduce the youth population in custody by 20%.

Ministers will also explore strengthening Youth Rehabilitation Orders – community sentences given to children, which can include unpaid work, curfews, or a requirement to undertake treatment.

The government said intensive supervision, allowing electronic monitoring to track a child’s whereabouts, could be used to keep the public safe.

However, it stressed custody “will always remain essential for the most dangerous offenders”.

The government will also consult on reforming childhood criminal records, potentially ending lifelong disclosure requirements for childhood offences.

Offences can be disclosed during criminal record checks, which can affect job opportunities.

Campaigners argue this means people can be held back by mistakes they made as a child.

Other measures include an extra £15.4m a year for the government’s early intervention Turnaround programme.

The government said the funding would help 12,000 children at risk of entering the youth justice system over the next three years.

It will also deliver on a commitment to create a new child criminal exploitation offence, targeting adults who draw children into crime.

The Alliance for Youth Justice welcomed the government’s recognition “that the youth justice system is not working”.

However, the group said the proposals rely “too heavily on pilots, consultations and reviews”, rather than “bold, ambitious action”.

“To keep children and communities safe, and fix a secure estate in deep crisis, we need legislated limits on custody, binding targets to eliminate racial disparities, and an urgent shift away from failing institutions toward welfare-focused alternatives,” a spokeswoman added.

Conservative shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said: “Whatever Labour say today they have already shown they don’t have it in their DNA to be tough on crime.

“They’ve let thousands of prisoners early and abolished short term sentences – so most perpetrators of knife crime who have been sent to prison in the past few years will escape a custodial sentence in future.”

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