Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken with the relevant stakeholders to develop a method to assess the maturity of offenders entering the justice system up to the age of 21.

Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) has developed a maturity screening tool for young adult men. This tool is available for use with all men aged 18-25 years of age within the prison and probation population. This maturity tool is a screening tool which is designed to identify those with the lowest levels of maturity, establish likely demand for services and interventions and to help practitioners to identify those individuals with lower levels of maturity who are most in need of support. The screening tool came into use in November 2018, however, has not yet been validated for use with female prisoners and work is ongoing to confirm if it can be used.

We are also currently working with senior civil servants in DHSC to improve screening for neurodivergent conditions/disorders/differences and Acquired Brain Injury, which are often associated with lower levels of maturity.