Shannon meets Minister Stephanie Pollack to discuss the work of the Youth Justice Agency and highlights the need for adequate sustained funding.
During the last Oral Questions to the Department for Culture, Media Arts and Sports (DCMS) on the 16th October, Jim Shannon MP praised the work of the local Youth Justice Agency team in his constituency and asked the Parliamentary Under-secretary for DCMS to explain how we can information share on youth rehabilitation
Minister Peacock agreed to meet with Jim Shannon MP to discuss this matter further. Following the meeting on Wed 14th January, Strangford MP Jim Shannon MP said: “It was lovely to meet with Minister Peacock, the Under-Secretary of State for DCMS who had expressed an interest in learning about work carried out by the Youth Justice Agency in Newtownards.
“I outlined the Youth Justice Agency workload and statistics for Northern Ireland highlighting that violence against the person remained the most common reason for statutory referrals across Northern Ireland (44.7%).
“While Belfast remains the area with the highest referral volume of cases (296 in 2024/25), Newtownards operates within a network of 11 Local Government Districts to ensure consistent service delivery across the province facilitating Youth Conferences and supervises various orders, including Community Responsibility and Reparation Orders.
“Ards and North Down consistently ranks in the mid-range of the 11 Local Government Districts (LGDs).
“Use of the Juvenile Justice Centre (JJC) for young people from this area is primarily for remand (80.2%) rather than direct sentencing.
“Approximately 40% of cases in the region were assessed as suitable for the Youth Engagement process, by-passing formal court proceedings in favour of diversionary measures and 98.9% of participants in the Youth Engagement process stated it helped them understand the impact of their choices. It is clear that funding is key in all of this.
“Funding for the Youth Justice Agency (YJA) in Ards and North Down is characterised by high operational performance but significant financial and staffing pressures typical of the wider Northern Ireland Department of Justice (DoJ). Recruitment and retention remain the “number one risk” facing the agency.
“Pay for YJA staff has historically lagged behind similar public sector roles, contributing to staff attrition and making it difficult to fill vacancies quickly. Looking at Regional Investment, despite the gaps, the agency has successfully used ‘in-year easements’ in budgets to expand critical services, such as the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) partnership, which now covers all area teams, including the Eastern Team serving Newtownards.:
Jim Shannon added: “The Minister was very interested in learning more and sharing best practice, and I look forward to continuing to highlight the great work that is done by the Youth Justice Service.
“However, the need for funding to enable the YJA to continue their great work is vital.”
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