Purpose

The Ministry of Justice has published its
response to the DFE’s Families First approach. This involves
the development of a number of pilot projects to support children
who have had contact
with the criminal justice system, but who have not received a
substantive outcome as a result.
The administration of the grant is devolved to local Violence
Reduction Units (VRU’s). South Yorkshire VRU requested
expressions of interest from all four sub-regional Local
Authorities. The City of Doncaster has successfully bid to be one
of the pilot areas and will receive £200,000 for a year of
delivery.
The Panels need to be established by 31st October 2025, and its
impact and efficacy will be evaluated throughout the first year of
its delivery. The MOJ will then seek to determine the best
practice models from all pilot areas nationally. It is intended
that the approach will subsequently be introduced to all Local
Authorities in the future.
By piloting this approach locally, CDC has the opportunity to
influence national practice in this area. Also, the additional
funding of £200,000 allows the City to support more children,
by increasing capacity. This has the potential to divert young
people from a range of potentially
negative outcomes, reducing the future burden on statutory and
targeted services.

Content

To accept Youth Future Prevention Panel grant
of £200,000 from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

Alternative options considered

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
The alterative option is to not accept the funding. This will limit
our ability to support more children and families, potentially
creating pressure on other services. Equally, CDC will lose the
opportunity to influence the national practice and agenda, at a
time of significant change in Children’s Services.