Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of tackling (a) trauma, (b) addiction and (c) mental health in reducing the rate of re-offending among young people; and whether she has had discussions with (i) UHub in North Down and (ii) other organisations that (A) provide counselling and (B) promote emotional well-being.

The Ministry of Justice recognises that addressing trauma, substance misuse and mental health challenges among young people is key to reducing re-offending rates – and that early intervention and prevention is an important part of this. In England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice has provided over £100 million to Youth Offending Teams this year, to support their delivery of needs-based interventions to reduce their risk of reoffending.

As justice is devolved in Northern Ireland, I have not discussed youth justice matters with uHub in North Down. However, in England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice works with a range of organisations that provide counselling and promote emotional wellbeing, including through our Turnaround youth justice early intervention programme.