Cumberland Youth Justice Service (YJS) has received an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. This is the first inspection of Cumberland YJS following local government reorganisation and the establishment of Cumberland as unitary authority in April 2023.

Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones said: “The significance and depth of the reorganisation of Cumberland YJS was vast, with the service and its newly formed board having to navigate and establish new partnerships and pathways at local and regional levels. Despite the changes, we were encouraged by YJS leaders’ unwavering commitment and their awareness of where they need to improve.”

Inspectors found partnership arrangements at Cumberland YJS to be inconsistent. Some good arrangements were in place with the police, Probation Service and substance misuse services, however there was a limited service provision elsewhere, particularly in relation to health.

Work to promote desistance for children subject to out-of-court disposals was strong, with inspectors observing a high level of engagement from children and YJS staff navigating the gaps in partnership arrangements to get good outcomes for children.

Mr Jones continued: “There is much to commend Cumberland YJS as they continue to build on the stable foundations put in place over the last year. Moving forward, the challenge is for the YJS management board to establish consistency and cohesiveness, to effectively translate strategy into strong service delivery.”

This report makes 10 recommendations. Of these, four are for the Cumberland YJS management board, including to develop individual and collective knowledge and understanding of members’ roles; and one is for NHS North East & North Cumbria, to ensure its statutory duty to provide relevant and timely physical, sexual, emotional, and mental health services to YJS children is fulfilled.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. This service works with children aged 10 to 17. The YJS supervise children with complex needs and some in the care of the local authority.
2. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’, rating specific aspects of each service and giving an overall rating.
3. The inspection looked at standards of organisational delivery (leadership, staffing and facilities), their management of children serving court sentences (court disposals) and children serving cautions or community sentences (out-of-court disposals).
4. The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website on 29 October 2024 at 00.01.
5. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
6. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in July 2024.
7. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)