Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish data on reoffending by individuals under the age of 18 for the year ending March 2023; and if he will provide a breakdown of those figures by (a) age and (b) offence type.

Details of the reoffending rates for juveniles, by age and index offence committed, for the year ending March 2022 (the latest for which data is currently available) are attached.

Proven reoffending is measured over a one-year follow-up period, after release from custody or receiving a non-custodial disposal. A proven reoffence is an offence that leads to a new court conviction, caution, reprimand, or warning in the one-year follow-up or within a further six-month waiting period to allow the offence to be proven in court. The most recently available annual data is therefore April 2021 – March 2022.

The overall juvenile proven reoffending rate has fallen from 40.4% in 2011/12 to 32.2% in 2021/22.

Reducing youth reoffending remains a key priority. That’s why we are piloting more intensive community alternatives to custody for children, which can be more effective in reducing reoffending. At the same time, the Government is working to improve outcomes and reduce reoffending rates for the small number of children sentenced to custody. For this reason, we are trialling secure schools as an alternative to Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) and Secure Training Centres (STCs). Secure schools will be “schools with security” rather than “prisons with education” and will have education, healthcare and purposeful activity at their heart.