Purpose

The Deputy Mayor, carrying out the functions of Police and Crime Commissioner on behalf of the Mayor, authorises Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to grant fund the ten GM Youth Justice Services individually from the Ministry of Justice Turnaround Grant funding of £1,090,168 for the financial year 2026/27.

This devolved arrangement agreed with the GMCA and Directors of Children’s Services of the 10 Greater Manchester Local Authorities, provides Greater Manchester with greater local flexibility over delivery and funding distribution as part of the wider Strategic Partnership deal between Greater Manchester and the Ministry of Justice.

The (multiyear: 1+1+1) funding for the Turnaround programme will enable youth justice teams in GM to contribute to the government’s wider reform agenda, supporting early intervention work and helping partners align their work across key initiatives, including the Safer Streets mission, Violence Reduction Units, the Young Futures programme, Children’s Social Care reforms and DCMS’s Youth Strategy.

The funding will support the ten YJS to continue to deliver targeted interventions for vulnerable young people in their respective areas and for GMCA to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the use and impact of Turnaround funding across the ten Greater Manchester youth justice services, in accordance with Ministry of Justice grant conditions, guidance and reporting requirements.

It should be noted that the payment to Oldham will not be made to Oldham Council. Oldham is in a unique position in that it is one of the only areas in England and Wales in which the statutory Youth Justice Service (YJS) is commissioned by the local authority and delivered by an independent charitable trust - Positive Steps. Therefore, instead of payment of Oldham’s Turnaround grant share going to Oldham Council, it will be paid to Positive Steps. The individual area amounts can be viewed on the Decision Notice.

Decision

The Ministry of Justice Turnaround programme provides funding to support earlier intervention with children and young people who are at risk of entering, or becoming more deeply involved in, the youth justice system. Acceptance of the 2026/27 allocation will enable the ten Greater Manchester youth justice services to continue eligible local activity and will allow GMCA to provide programme coordination, assurance and oversight at Greater Manchester level.

GMCA will use the grant in line with the final Ministry of Justice grant agreement and any accompanying guidance. It will establish proportionate arrangements to:

• confirm allocations and eligible expenditure across all ten local youth justice services;
• monitor delivery, expenditure, outputs, outcomes and compliance with grant conditions;
• support consistent data collection and performance reporting;
• evaluate delivery and impact across Greater Manchester, including learning on effective practice and areas for improvement; and
• submit required returns and assurance information to the Ministry of Justice within specified timescales.
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The ten youth justice services will remain responsible for delivery in their local authority areas, maintaining suitable records, complying with relevant statutory and safeguarding duties, and providing timely financial and performance information to GMCA.


Turnaround is a youth justice early intervention programme for children aged 10 to 17 who are on the cusp of entering the youth justice system but are not yet on a statutory Youth Justice Service caseload.

It provides funding and structure for local areas to identify children earlier, understand the underlying needs and risks in their lives, and put support in place before concerns escalate into formal justice involvement.
The programme is intended to strengthen prevention and diversion, reduce unnecessary criminalisation, and improve outcomes for children, families, victims and communities.

Used well, Turnaround can provide a significant platform for a more consistent, child-centred and evidence-led approach to prevention, helping partners identify need earlier, target support more effectively and reduce escalation into custody or more intensive statutory intervention.

Historically, Turnaround funding and reporting have been managed through individual Youth Justice Services, with each local authority responsible for delivering the programme locally and submitting the required monitoring information to the Ministry of Justice.

Under the new devolved model, individual Youth Justice Services would continue to provide local delivery data and financial information, but reporting would be consolidated at Greater Manchester level and submitted to the Ministry of Justice as a single return. This includes a reporting framework which requires data returns twice a year: one covering Quarter 1 and Quarter 2, due at the end of October, and one covering Q3 and Q4, due at the end of April.

The reporting form captures the core programme measures, including the number of children assessed, age, sex, ethnicity, SEND or additional learning needs, children’s services status, looked-after status, anti-social behaviour eligibility, children starting interventions, withdrawals, closed cases and one-year post-closure outcomes.
Financial reporting is also required through a statement of grant usage, setting out how the allocation has been spent and whether any underspend is anticipated.