Our current proposals on youth offending therefore prioritise further early prevention and diversion activity, reaching younger people even earlier, before they are at risk of offending. We will further develop our approaches to pre-court diversion and enhance the support for a trauma-informed approach to working with young people at risk of offending. A holistic approach will be needed, and we will use the experience of the pathfinders to inform that work. We recognise that one size does not fit all.

At the same time, consideration must be given to how best to place a small cohort of young people, with often very complex needs, in a secure environment that is fit for purpose. Then there must be the right type of support available to help these young people recover and resettle into their communities. All of our work with young people will be underpinned by a rights-based approach, considering them as a child or young person first, not as an offender or potential offender.

There is still a disproportionately high number of women sent to prison, often for short sentences. We recognise that this has a devastating longer term effect on the women themselves and their families. We must therefore invest more effort into pre-court diversion. I would like to see even earlier preventative measures to divert women away from the criminal justice system; to keep families together; to reduce the need for more acute services; and to reduce the longer term impact that involvement in the criminal justice system can have for these women.

The development of trauma-informed approaches and the recognition of the impact of adverse childhood experiences should be considered for female offenders and their children, taking into account the needs of those women and their families who have been affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. We can better support women to stay in their communities and in work. We want to develop the services necessary to support women so they can avoid custody altogether. We will also work with the Ministry of Justice and the courts to reconsider the impact of sentencing policy and the impact of short sentences on women, including how this will impact on the child and family.

It is also patently clear and urgent that we need a new solution to the current female prison estate. We will need to work closely with the Ministry of Justice and the prisons and probation service, but I am clear that when a woman is committed to custody, they need to be in an environment that supports their needs; supports their rehabilitation; and supports them to remain connected to their families and their communities.

I would like to put on record my gratitude for the work of Youth Justice Board Cymru, for their role in early intervention and diversion successes, and the outreach work they are doing on sentencing and prevention.

On female offending, we have supported a women’s pathfinder programme, diverting women away from custody and providing a range of support. I would also like to express my gratitude to the partners, in particular Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and the police and crime commissioners involved in developing the women’s pathfinder and the female offending draft blueprint, for all of their work to date. 

Deputy Presiding Officer, over the coming months, with our range of partners and across Government, we will continue to develop our proposals into firm plans that will bring our blueprints into life. I would envisage that in the new year we will be in a position to publish the blueprints in full and outline our proposals in greater detail in the form of a delivery plan. I will keep Members updated as this work continues.