Give councils a financial incentive to fund schemes keeping children out of prison, says Martin Narey

Councils should be financially “incentivised” to fund schemes keeping children out of custody such as remand fostering, chief executive of Barnardo’s Martin Narey told delegates today at the National Children and Adult Services Conference.
 
“If young people go to prison, it doesn’t cost local authorities anything,” Narey pointed out, questioning why hard-pressed councils would take on the costs of diversionary schemes.
 
In a session on the “British obsession with custody”, Narey also forecast little change in the way young offenders are treated while the Youth Justice Board remains part of the Home Office.
 
The YJB should be part of the Department for Education and Skills, so policy can take a wider view of how children are treated, he added.
 
 

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