1. family and parenting
2. children

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE SCOUTS
PUBLIC AFFAIRS BULLETIN No.26
NOVEMBER 2014
City
Hello All,
A contingent from Nottinghamshire Scouts went down to Speaker's House in the
Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 29th October for the 'Better Prepared' launch.
This is a national scheme to look at starting Scout Groups in the 200 most deprived
wards in the country.
During the event we met many people including John Bercow, Speaker of the House;
Wayne Bulpitt, Chief Commissioner; Matt Hyde,UK Chief Executive; together with
the new UK Youth Commissioner, Hannah Kentish and one of her deputies, Jagz
Bharth; and two local Nottinghamshire MPs, Gloria de Piero, MP for Ashfield, and
Vernon Coaker, MP for Gedling.
We will tell you more of this in a few days' time in a Special Edition of
Nottinghamshire Scouts Public Affairs Bulletin.
Yours in Scouting, John
Graham Allen,
MP for Nottm North
John Mann,
MP for Bassetlaw
Ken Clarke,
MP for Rushcliffe
Alan Meale,
MP for Mansfield
Vernon Coaker,
MP for Gedling
Robert Jenrick,
MP for Newark
Gloria de Piero,
MP for Ashfield
Anna Soubry,
MP for Broxtowe
Lillian Greenwood,
MP for Nottm South
Mark Spencer,
MP for Sherwood
Chris Leslie,
MP for Nottm East
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 Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission: State of the Nation 2014 report
 Dept for Education: 2020 Child Poverty Target
 Ministry of Justice: Secure College rules consultation
 Cabinet Office: Voter registration
 Dept for Business, Innovation and Skills: National Minimum Wage
 Home Office: Independent Inquiry Panel on child sexual abuse
 Home Office: Youth workers in A&E
 Home Office: Anti social behaviour
 Home Office: Mandatory reporting
 House of Lords: Social Justice Strategy
 House of Lords: Criminal Justice and Courts Bill
 BBC on "revenge porn"
 Office for National Statistics: International comparisons of teenage births
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Education Select Committee: 16-plus care options report
Office for National Statistics (ONS): Labour market statistics
UK Youth Parliament: Make Your Mark Ballot
Citizens Advice Bureau: Young people and payday loans
Skills Funding Agency: Apprenticeship starts
End Child Poverty: Poverty map
Dept for Work and Pensions: Jobcentre Plus support for 16 and 17 year olds
 Public Health England: Physical activity
 Cabinet Office: Ministerial priorities
 Cabinet Office: Engaging young people in democracy
 Cabinet Office: New funding for the Charity Commission
 Dept for Education: Religious Schools Code of Practice
 Dept for Education: Looked after children consultation responses
 Dept for Business, Innovation & Skills: Apprenticeships
 Home Office: Vulnerable people
 Dept for Education: Consultation on SEN and youth custody
 House of Lords: Improved alternatives for young people not attending university
 Youth Justice Board: Guidance for youth offending team police officers
 House of Lords: Criminal Justice and Courts Bill
 Dept for Education: GCSE and A level results
 Office for National Statistics: Wellbeing
 Dept of Health: NHS waiting time standards for mental health
 Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission: Schools and social mobility
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 Home Office: Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme
 Youth Justice Board: Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
 Youth Justice Board: Deaths of children in custody
 Dept for Communities and Local Government: Funding to tackle female genital mutilation and
forced marriage
 Dept for Business, Innovation & Skills: Skills Show and Skills Competitions
 Dept for Business, Innovation & Skills: Functional Skills
 Ministry of Justice: Youth custody
 Home Affairs Select Committee: Gangs inquiry
 Office of National Statistics (ONS): Well-Being of Children
 Youth Justice Board: Promoting good practice with BAME young people
 Young Offenders: Unemployment
 House of Commons - Written Answers
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Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission: State of the
Nation 2014 report
The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission has published its second annual
Sate of the Nation report to be presented to Parliament. The report assesses what
the UK government, the Scottish government and the Welsh government are doing,
what progress is being made, and what is likely to happen in future. The report also
examines the role of employers and professions, councils and colleges, schools and
universities, parents and charities. The report makes a number of recommendations
for action. The report also claims the target to reduce child poverty by half by 2020
will not be met.
Department for Education: 2020 Child Poverty Target
The Government has published a summary of responses to a consultation on the
2020 child poverty target and its own response. It has set a target of less than 7%
of children living in persistent poverty by 2020. The target is for persistent child
poverty, meaning the proportion of children who have been in relative poverty for
three of the past four years. The Government's response to the consultation on the
target acknowledges "the majority of respondents did not agree with the proposed
target of less than 7% and felt that a lower target would be more consistent with the
aim of ending child poverty". The under-7% target must be debated and approved
by the Commons and the Lords before it can be brought into force.
Ministry of Justice: Secure College rules
consultation
The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation on plans
for Secure College rules. These rules intend to be part of the
legal framework for the operation of Secure Colleges, a new
form of youth detention accommodation. Secure Colleges are
being designed to provide an integrated, multi-agency
approach to tackling the offending of young people aged 1217. The rules will set out the areas which Secure Colleges will
be required to comply with so that young people are held
safely and securely, and are educated and rehabilitated
effectively. The deadline for responses is 27 November.
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Cabinet Office: Voter
registration
A report published today
shows that under the new
Individual Electoral
Registration (IER) system
nearly 9 in 10 electors in
England and Wales have
been automatically added to
the electoral
register. NCVYS is working
with the Electoral
Commission to promote
awareness of the new voter
registration system amongst
young people.
Department for Business,
Innovation and
Skills: National Minimum
Wage
Government has submitted
evidence to the Low Pay
Commission which they hope will
help decide the level of the
National Minimum Wage from
October 2015. This outlines what
they believe to be the strength of
the economic recovery and
restates the government’s
commitment to seeing the NMW
rise as fast as possible without
having an adverse impact on the
jobs growth.
Home Office: Independent Inquiry Panel on child sexual abuse
The Home Secretary today has announced appointments to the Independent Inquiry
Panel which will consider child sexual abuse within institutions. The Panel will
consider whether, and to what extent, public bodies and other non-state institutions
have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.
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Home Office: Youth workers
in A&E
The Crime Prevention Minister has
praised a project that places youth
workers in hospital A&E units to
tackle gang-related violence. The
Home Office recently announced it
will pay the Redthread charity
£30,000 to expand the London-based
scheme.
Home Office: Anti social
behaviour
The government has published notes on
anti-social behaviour section of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act:
Information note: young people
Information note: public and
open spaces
Home Office: Mandatory reporting
Minister for Criminal Information Lord Bates has written to Liberal
Democrat peer Baroness Walmsley, who has tabled an amendment
to the Serious Crime Bill, currently going through parliament, to
have mandatory reporting made law. Bates said there are “mixed
opinions” as to whether mandatory reporting requirements result in
better protection of children. He added that research is
“inconclusive” in determining whether it helps, hinders, or makes no
difference to the safety of children. He noted that making reporting
of child abuse a legal requirement could place children at risk of
harm by "overwhelming" local authority children’s services
departments.
House of Lords: Social Justice Strategy
Members of the Lords, including a former chief inspector of prisons and member of the
Joseph Rowntree Poverty and Disadvantage Committee, debated the government's
social justice strategy on Thursday 16 October. Peers defined social justice as the
distribution of income, wealth, opportunities and privileges within society so that everyone
can reach their potential. Members highlighted the need to listen to people who are most
affected with multiple needs, give more support to local areas so that coordinated local
services can have an impact on the most vulnerable and to understand the impact of
government policy.
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House of Lords: Criminal Justice and Courts Bill
The Standing Committee on Youth Justice has reported that the House of Lords debated
knife crime amendments in the Bill, with Lord Carlile, The Earl of Listowel and Lord
Paddick speaking in favour of Amendment 60, tabled by Lord Marks, that would remove
16 and 17-year-olds from the scope of the compulsory custodial sentences for a second
knife possession offence, proposed by Clause 27. Following debate Lord Marks did not
push the amendments to a vote.
The BBC reports that the House of
Lords has voted to make
"revenge porn" a criminal
offence in England and Wales.
Under the Criminal Justice and
Courts Bill, the sharing of a private
sexual image of someone without
their consent and to cause distress
will be punishable by up to two years
in prison. The change, which still
has to be approved by MPs, covers
the sharing of physical and online
copies, and text messages.
Office for National
Statistics: International
comparisons of teenage births
The ONS has published analysis of the
latest teenage birth rates and how the UK
compares to other countries. It looks at:
birth rate decreases among
women aged 15-19 across
Europe
birth rate decreases among
women aged 15-19 outside the
EU28 and outside Europe
birth rate decreases among
women aged 15-17 across Europe
Education Select Committee: 16-plus care options report
The government has rejected calls from MPs for an outright ban on the use of bed
and breakfast (B&B) accommodation for care leavers. In its response to the
education select committee’s report on 16-plus care options, the government said it
would not back an outright ban because local government organisations had
warned that to do so would limit councils' ability to meet care leavers’ needs. The
Education Committee seeks a debate in the House of Commons on the
Government’s response to its report about care options for looked-after children
over 16 years old.
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Office for National Statistics (ONS): Labour market statistics
The latest monthly figures show:
In the three months to August 2014, there were 3.85 million 16 to 24 year olds in
employment
There were 733,000 unemployed 16 to 24 years olds, down 88,000 from the
previous quarter (and down 253,000 on the same quarter in 2012-2013)
The unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 16%, down from 17.7% in
the previous quarter (and down from 21.3% on the same quarter in 20122013)
The number of 16 to 24 years olds unemployed for over a year decreased to
209,000 (from 217,000) and the number unemployed for over two years
decreased to 88,000 (from 90,000).
There are 227,000 unemployed young people who are not in education, and do
not claim Jobseeker’s Allowance, 48.6% of all unemployed young people who are
not students
UK Youth Parliament: Make
Your Mark Ballot
The UK Youth Parliament saw a record
turnout in the annual Make Your Mark
ballot, which saw over 865,000 votes
cast by 11-18 year olds across the
country. The figure marks an 81%
increase on the 478,000 votes cast in
the ballot in 2013.
Citizens Advice Bureau: Young people and payday
loans
In-depth analysis of nearly 30,000 of the most serious debt
problems experienced by Citizens Advice clients, 3,000 of which
were debts held by people aged between 17 and 24 shows:
62% of 17-24 year-olds using high-interest credit are
turning to payday loans
clients aged 17-24 make up 10% of all of the charity’s
serious debt cases
19% of the clients in serious debt aged 17-24 are in rent
arrears
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Skills Funding Agency: Apprenticeship starts
The Statistical First Release shows success rates for 2012 to 2013 and provisional
further education and skills data for the full 2013/14 academic year:
in 2013/14 the number of apprenticeship starts was provisionally
432,400, a drop of 62,700 (from 495,100) since the same figures were
released for 2012/13
the final figures for 2012/13 showed the first drop in apprenticeship
take-up in seven years (from 510,200 to 499,800 — a 2% drop)
provisional data show that there were 117,800 under 19-year-olds
started apprenticeships in 2013/14, rising 5% from the equivalent figures
in 2012/13
data show that there were 156,900 19 to 24-year-olds started
apprenticeships in 2013/14 (a fall of 3% from the equivalent figures in
2012/13)
provisional data show that there were 10,500 Traineeship starts for the
full 2013/14 academic year
End Child Poverty: Poverty map
The Campaign to End Child Poverty has published new figures that
provide a child poverty map of the whole of the UK. The figures are broken
down by parliamentary constituency, local authority and ward. The figures
show:
London scores badly - containing ten of the top 20
constituencies with the highest child poverty rates in the UK and
14 of the 20 highest-rate local authorities.
wide disparity in poverty rates across the UK, between regions
and striking variations even within regions
for example, in London, Bethnal Green and Bow has a child
poverty rate of 49% compared to 15% in Richmond upon Thames
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Department for Work and Pensions: Jobcentre Plus support for 16 and 17
year olds
Specially-trained Jobcentre work coaches will be joining up with local authorities and
voluntary sector organisations to help around 3,000 16 and 17 year olds, who are not
in work, education or training, to find local employment and training opportunities.
Pilots have been taking place in Lewisham, Norfolk, Hertfordshire and Sheffield since
May. From 24 October they will be rolled out into another 30 local authority areas
across England to help more young people find work and training.
Public Health England: Physical activity
‘Everybody active, every day’ is a national, evidencebased approach to support all sectors to embed physical
activity into their daily lives. To make active lifestyles a
reality for all, the framework’s four areas for action are to:
 change the social ‘norm’ to make physical
activity the expectation
 develop expertise and leadership within
professionals and volunteers
 create environments to support active lives
 identify and up-scale successful programmes
nationwide
Cabinet Office: Ministerial priorities
The new Minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson outlined his four priorities for the
voluntary sector in a recent speech, including ensuring the government supports small
charities as much as large ones. Wilson said his other priorities were encouraging
volunteering and giving, supporting charities and social enterprises to help tackle
social problems, and bringing about more sustainable funding.
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Cabinet Office: Engaging young people in democracy
‘Rock Enrol!’ is a Government initiative that aims to increase the number of
young people registered to vote. Rock Enrol! uses interactive games to get
students discussing important issues, whether local or global, and to get their
voice heard by registering to vote there and then. The Rock Enrol! resource
is a 45-minute interactive lesson framework that brings to life why young
people should register to vote.
Cabinet Office: New funding for the Charity Commission
An additional £8 million funding has been announced for the Charity
Commission to tackle abuse, including extremist activity, in the
charity sector. The Charity Commission will receive the funding over
3 years to help re-focus its regulatory activity on proactive
monitoring and enforcement in the highest risk areas like abuse of
charities for terrorist and other criminal purposes, such as tax
avoidance and fraud. Further measures to protect the charity sector
from abuse are published in the draft Protection of Charities Bill.
Department for Education: Religious Schools Code of Practice
The Department for Education (DfE) has ended plans for a code of
practice for some religious schools which operate outside of mainstream
education. The code of practice was recommended by the government's
Extremism Task Force to ensure children were not exposed to intolerant
views. The code was intended to cover evening classes, weekend schools
or in private tuition centres and DfE was expected to publish a draft
version before the end of the year. However, the BBC reports that the
Government will not go ahead with these plans and will instead strengthen
existing regulation and target schools where there is particular concern.
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Department for Education: Looked after children
consultation responses
Government has now responded to the 2013 consultation
document Looked after children: Improving permanence. The
Government had sought comments on its proposals to:
strengthen the team around looked-after children; improve the
status and stability of long-term foster care and; strengthen the
requirements for returning children home from care. The
changes to regulations and guidance being taken forward are
set out in a Children's Partnership summary briefing.
Department for Business, Innovation &
Skills: Apprenticeships
New apprenticeships are being designed by
employers as part of the Government’s
apprenticeship trailblazers scheme. More than 700
employers are to design 76 new apprenticeships in
professions ranging from TV production to welding.
Employers include PwC, BAE Systems and Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue.
Home Office: Vulnerable people
Home Secretary Theresa May has said that
vulnerable people must receive improved support
and care from the police and health
professionals. She has announced a package of
measures to improve the police response to
people with mental health problems.
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Department for Education: Consultation on SEN and youth custody
A consultation has been launched designed to strengthen support and rehabilitation
options offered to young offenders with special educational needs. The changes, due to
commence from 1 April 2015, will give local authorities where the young person’s home
is based the responsibility to ensure support for them continues when they enter or leave
custody. The deadline for responses is 19 November.
House of Lords: Improved alternatives for young people not attending
university
Members of the Lords, including a former Education Secretary, and the former vice chair
of the Learning and Skills Council England, debated the case for improved alternatives
for young people not attending university. Issues explored in this wide-ranging debate on
education and training included:
 the need to increase the number of 16-18 year olds on apprenticeship schemes
 the damage caused by inconsistency in skills policy and frequent changes in
the qualification system
 calls for a new approach to student funding
 the problem of graduate unemployment and a growing skills gap
Youth Justice Board: Guidance for
youth offending team police officers
A piece of joint guidance from the National
Police Lead for Children and Young People
and the Youth Justice Board details the
expected minimum core functions that the
youth offending team (YOT) police officer is
expected to carry out. The guidance takes
into account changes since 2010.
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House of Lords: Criminal Justice and Courts Bill
The Standing Committee on Youth Justice has reported that the Bill, which
introduces Secure Colleges as a new form of youth custody, was debated in the
House of Lords last night.
 An amendment preventing girls and young children being held in
secure colleges passed by one vote
 Amendments were lost on restricting the use of force in secure
colleges, and on requiring Parliament to scrutinise and approve the
secure college Rules (additional legislation that would govern how
secure colleges run)
 Peers debated amendments on: pre-charge naming; reporting
restrictions applying to social media; and anonymity post-18 and
whether this should only be available to child victims and witnesses or
whether child defendants should be eligible too. The Bill has been
amended so that reporting restrictions will now cover social media and
so that child victims and witnesses can be granted anonymity post-18.
At the next stage of the Bill we will push for post-18 anonymity to be
available to defendants too
 An amendment was debated, but not pushed to a vote, on 17 year olds in
policy custody having the right to local authority accommodation.
Department for Education: GCSE and A level results
Provisional statistics of exam results in the academic year 2013 to 2014, the
first results following a number of major reforms aiming to reverse the
decline in the number of pupils taking academic qualifications, show:
 38.7% of pupils at state-funded schools entered GCSE EBacc
subjects including science, history or geography while 23.9%
achieved the EBacc measure - a rise of 3.2 percentage points and
1.1 percentage points respectively
 the proportion of pupils achieving 5 A* to C grades including
English and maths has fallen from 59.2% in 2012 to 2013 to
52.6% in 2013 to 2014
 the proportion of A level entries in the ‘facilitating subjects’ (defined by
the Russell Group of universities as those A levels most commonly
required for entry to leading universities) rose by 1.1 percentage
points from 53.9% to 54.9%
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Office for National Statistics: Wellbeing
Measuring National Well-being — Exploring the Well-being of Children in the
UK presents estimates for 22 of 31 newly developed measures (described as a
'baseline') of children's well-being, and considers how selected measures have changed
over time or differed by gender. The report notes that other measures are still in
development and will be included in an updated set of measures in spring 2015.
Department of Health: NHS waiting time standards for mental health
New waiting time standards have been announced, which aim to bring treatment for mental
health problems on a par with physical health. There will also be £120 million to improve
mental health services. From April 2015, patients needing therapies for conditions like
depression are said to be guaranteed the treatment they need in as little as 6 weeks, with a
maximum wait of 18 weeks.
Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission: Schools and
social mobility
The Government’s advisory body has published Cracking the code: how schools
can improve social mobility. It notes that gaps in cognitive development between
better-off and disadvantaged children open up early on. Those from the poorest
fifth of families are on average more than 11 months behind children from
middle income families in vocabulary tests when they start school and over the
years that follow, these gaps widen rather than narrow.
Home Office: Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme
The government has announced 10 new areas which will receive specialist
support that aims to tackle gang-related crime. The areas, all in England, will be
included in the government’s Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme after
they requested access to the scheme’s resources and expertise. The new
priority areas, five of which are London boroughs, are: Barnet; Bromley;
Havering; Hillingdon; Kensington and Chelsea; Luton; Ipswich; Thanet; Stokeon-Trent; and Tendring.
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Youth Justice Board: Anti-Social Behaviour,
Crime and Policing Act 2014
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act will come
into force on 20 October, creating six powers to manage
anti-social behaviour and replacing the current 19, two of
which affect under-18s. The YJB will publish youth offending
team (YOT) guidance shortly.
Youth Justice Board: Deaths of children in custody
The YJB’s report Deaths of Children in Custody: Action Taken,
Lessons Learnt explains the actions taken by the YJB in response to
recommendations following the deaths of children in custody since
2000. It also identifies the work that still needs to be undertaken to
ensure that when children must be held in custody, it is in a safe
environment which protects them from harm.
Department for Communities and Local Government: Funding to
tackle female genital mutilation and forced marriage
To mark International Day of the Girl (11 October 2014), the Government has
pledged £330,000 of funding to help tackle female generation mutilation and
forced marriage. The funding will be used to fund a number of projects that
provide expertise and support services in some of the most at risk areas of the
country to help eradicate this abhorrent practice.
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills: Skills
Show and Skills Competitions
The Skills Show and Skills Competitions will be delivered by Find a
Future in 2015 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017 and BIS is providing £18
million for this over the next 2 years. From April 2015, funding for The
Skills Show and Skills Competitions will be routed through the
Education and Training Foundation.
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Department for Business, Innovation &
Skills: Functional Skills
Skills Minister Nick Boles has written to Ofqual chief regulator
Glenys Stacey to say that functional Skills “will continue to be
one of the types of qualification that learners have available”.
The qualifications aim to equip learners with basic English,
maths and ICT skills. FE Week reports that this represents a
change in position from the government, which previously had
been seen to favour GCSEs for all.
Ministry of Justice: Youth custody
The Youth custody report for August shows:
the number of children in custody in England and Wales is at a record
low: 1,068
the number of children detained in secure children’s homes continues
to decline
there are only 44 girls in custody, and 38 children under 15 in youth
custody
Home Affairs Select
Committee: Gangs
inquiry
The Home Affairs
Committee has taken
evidence on gangs and
youth crime.
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Office of National Statistics (ONS): Well-Being of Children
The ONS has published Measuring National Well-being: Exploring the Well-being of
Children in the UK 2014. It draws on three surveys of childhood and findings include:
77% of children aged 10-15 were satisfied with their lives in 2013
12% of children aged 10-15 reported being a victim of crime in 2013/14
12% of children aged 10-15 said they were frequently bullied in 2011-12
88% of children aged 10-15 liked the neighbourhood they lived in 2011-12
28% of children in England aged 2 to 15 were overweight, including obese,
in 2012
28% of children aged 10 to 15 said they quarrelled with their mother more than
once a week, while 20% quarrelled with their father more than once a week in
2011-12
Youth Justice Board: Promoting good practice with
BAME young people
The YJB would like to identify examples of programmes of work being
delivered by voluntary sector organisations that have improved the
outcomes for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) young people.
Specifically they are looking at programmes/interventions in
establishments to address behaviour management issues. They would
also welcome submissions more generally in regards to specific
programmes delivered in the community for BAME young people.
Young Offenders: Unemployment
House of Commons - Written Answers
Dan Jarvis: What proportion of young offenders released in the last 12 months are not in
education, employment or training. [208978]
Andrew Selous:In 2013/14 41%(1) percent of young people who had been sentenced to
custody were not receiving any education, training or employment at the end of their licence
period. Our Transforming Youth Custody programme is improving the prospects of effective
resettlement of young people leaving custody. We are working closely with other
Government Departments to provide young people with the opportunities they need,
including through the Youth Engagement Fund which will help to close the attainment gap
for disadvantaged 14-17 year olds, including those that have come into contact with the
youth justice system. (1) Information is extracted from YOTs’ electronic case management
system and is taken from the last week of the custodial licence period. These figures have
been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording
system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to
change over time.
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INFORMATION RE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA
If you wish to know what is happening in your Council area, enter the
web address and go to the appropriate page, eg Council, Cabinet and
Committee etc.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk
NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk
ASHFIELD
www.ashfield-dc.gov.uk
BASSETLAW
www.bassetlaw.gov.uk
BROXTOWE
www.broxtowe.gov.uk
GEDLING
www.gedling.gov.uk
MANSFIELD
www.mansfield.gov.uk
NEWARK& SHERWOOD
www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk
RUSHCLIFFE
www.rushcliffe.gov.uk
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