Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which areas his Department plans to pilot Youth Intervention Courts.

On 18 May 2026, the Ministry of Justice launched an Expression of Interest process to identify potential sites for our Youth Intervention Court pilot.

In Autumn 2026, a Statutory Instrument will be brought forward to grant the youth court in our proposed pilot area(s) the powers of review for children sentenced to Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YROs). Subject to Parliamentary approval, we intend to have the first pilot site operational by Spring 2027.

The reoffending rate for children on YROs was 60% in the year ending March 2024. We plan to evaluate the pilot before determining next steps.