Youth Justice Board Explained

Youth Justice Board
Status:	Non-departmental public body
Headquarters:	London
Leader Title:	CEO
Leader Name:	Steph Roberts-Bibby
Leader Title2:	Chairman
Leader Name2:	Keith Fraser
Region Served:	England and Wales

The Youth Justice Board (Welsh: Bwrdd Cyfiawnder Ieuenctid), for England and Wales (YJB) is a non-departmental public body created by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to oversee the youth justice system for England and Wales. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, and its Board members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice. It also receives funding from the Home Office and the Department for Education. In November 2011 the government dropped plans, contained in the Public Bodies Bill, to abolish the Youth Justice Board.^[1]

Functions

The YJB's primary function is to monitor the operation of the youth justice system and the provision of youth justice services. Within England and Wales it is responsible for:

• using information and evidence to form an expert view of how to get the best outcomes for children who offend and for victims of crime
• advising the Secretary of State for Justice and those working in youth justice services about how well the system is operating, and how improvements can be made
• identifying and sharing best practice
• promoting the voice of the child
• commissioning research and publishing information in connection with good practice
• monitoring the youth justice system and the provision of youth justice services
• making grants, with the approval of the Secretary of State, for the purposes of the operation of the youth justice system and services
• providing information technology related assistance for the operation of the youth justice system and services. The main vehicle for this is the Youth Justice Application Framework (YJAF) which is a case management system collecting data utilised by the YJB for its Business Intelligence & Insights function, and information exchange between Youth Justice Services and the Secure Estate regarding children.

Board Members

Members of the YJB's Board are appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice. The following people are current YJB Board Members:

• Keith Fraser (Chair)
• Brian Tytherleigh
• Duwayne Brooks OBE
• Jacob Sakil
• Keith Towler
• Louise Shorter
• Professor Neal Hazel
• Phillip Bowen
• Sharon Gray
• Susannah Hancock

The YJB's current Chief Executive is Steph Roberts-Bibby.^[2] The organisation has about 100 staff.^[3]

Chairs of the YJB

• September 1998–June 2003 : Lord Norman Warner^[4]
• June 2003–April 2004 : Sir Charles Pollard (Acting)^[5]
• April 2004–January 2007 : Rod Morgan^[6]
• February 2007–February 2008 : Graham Robb (Interim)
• February 2008–March 2014 : Frances Done^[7]
• March 2014–February 2017 : Lord Tom McNally^[8]
• March 2017–April 2020 : Charlie Taylor^[9]
• April 2020–Current : Keith Fraser^[10]

External links

• Youth Justice Board
• YJB Publications

Notes and References

1. Web site: BBC Online . 31 May 2015.
2. Web site: Youth Justice Board website. 26 May 2022.
3. Web site: Youth Justice Board website . 31 May 2015.
4. Web site: Lord Warner: I'll tackle 'national disgrace' of Birmingham children's services . . 15 March 2020.
5. Web site: Children and Young People Now . 15 March 2020.
6. Web site: Young at heart . . 15 March 2020.
7. Web site: Across the divide. . 30 March 2020.
8. Web site: Lord McNally appointed new Chair of Youth Justice Board. 30 March 2020.
9. Web site: Charlie Taylor. 30 March 2020.
10. Web site: Appointment of Keith Fraser as Chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. 14 April 2020.