Parents could lose benefits or even face prison if their children commit crimes under proposed reforms to England and Wales’ youth justice system.

Youth Justice Minister Jake Richards said the changes would create a “carrot-and-stick” approach, with judges able to impose tougher consequences on parents who fail to support efforts to change their child’s behaviour.

Parents could face a dramatic new penalty

Richards said strengthened Parenting Orders could ultimately involve benefit deductions or custody in the most extreme cases. Any prison sentence would be decided by a judge, with the minister stressing that the measure would be used only rarely.

“Parenting orders are going to make sure that parents are more involved,” Richards told the Times. “That will have some stick. It could be custodial, or docking benefits.”

Existing orders can require parents or guardians to attend counselling or take other steps to address offending, with breaches currently punishable by a fine of up to £1,000.

Use of parenting orders has collapsed

The government wants to strengthen the system after the number of Parenting Orders fell sharply from more than 1,000 in 2009/10 to just 33 in 2022/23.

Critics argue coercing parents could undermine the support children need. Jess Mullen of the Alliance for Youth Justice has questioned how imprisoning parents could provide stability, while Howard League campaign director Andrew Neilson warned that criminalising parents could prove “counter-productive”.

Southport tragedy adds pressure

The reforms follow the first phase of the Southport Inquiry, which found “catastrophic” failures by the parents of killer Axel Rudakubana and several agencies, with opportunities to prevent the 2024 murders missed.

Former Justice Secretary David Lammy previously said there should be “real consequences” for parents who wilfully fail to support interventions, while stressing that custody would be extremely rare.

Ministers reject raising criminal age

Richards also rejected calls to raise England and Wales’ age of criminal responsibility from 10, saying doing so was not a government priority and could undermine public confidence.

The Bar Council has called for the threshold to rise to 14, while the UN has previously said the UK should meet its recommendation of at least 14.

The proposals are now being discussed with local leaders and experts as ministers examine wider reforms to youth justice and devolution.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6lye7200g7vo

Might be easier to bring back the concept of discipline and a good ole spanking? Did nobody wise warn that letting kids grow into feral brats after discipline was criminalized by nutty leftists would lead to trouble?

9 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

Might be easier to bring back the concept of discipline and a good ole spanking? Did nobody wise warn that letting kids grow into feral brats after discipline was criminalized by nutty leftists would lead to trouble?

And yet here is a Left Wing Minister proposing holding parents responsible for the criminal actions of their children.

You perhaps need some new twaddle notes.