Highlights
- Youth justice minister Jake Richards said judges would decide on penalties.
- Parenting Orders have fallen from more than 1,000 in 2009/10 to 33 in 2022/23.
- Critics question whether punishing parents will provide stability for children.
PARENTS could lose benefits or face prison if they fail to take responsibility for their children's offending under proposed changes to the youth justice system in England and Wales.
Youth justice minister Jake Richards said tougher parenting orders would give courts more powers to hold parents accountable when children become involved in crime.
Speaking to the Times, Richards said the system should “hold parents to account proportionately” for ensuring they play their part in keeping communities safe.
He said parents could face financial penalties, including having benefits reduced, while prison would be reserved for the most serious cases.
“Parenting orders are going to make sure that parents are more involved in the process by which we try to turn around young offenders,” Richards was quoted as saying.
“Yes, that will have some stick. It could be custodial, or docking benefits - ultimately it will be up to a judge.”
Prison only in extreme cases
Richards stressed that prison would be used only “in the most extreme cases” and that any decision would be left to judges.
He described the approach as a “carrot-and-stick” system, combining support for families with stronger consequences when parents fail to engage.
The proposals build on plans announced by the government in May to strengthen and expand Parenting Orders.
Under the current system, courts must consider a parenting order when a child under 16 is convicted of an offence. Orders can also be considered for 16 and 17-year-olds where they could help prevent further offending.
Parents or guardians can be required to attend counselling, guidance or other sessions. Breaching an order is currently a criminal offence, with a maximum fine of £1,000.
Use of the orders has fallen sharply, from more than 1,000 in 2009/10 to just 33 in 2022/23.
The proposed expansion has raised concerns among organisations working with children and young people.
Jess Mullen, chief executive of the Alliance for Youth Justice, has argued that voluntary engagement with parents is generally more effective in building trust and providing support.
She previously questioned how putting parents in prison would provide “stability or support for the child”.
When the plans were announced in May, then justice secretary David Lammy said there should be “real consequences” for parents and carers who deliberately failed to support efforts to address their children's behaviour.
He also said he expected any power to jail parents to be used “very, very rarely”.
Southport inquiry adds pressure
The government's youth justice reforms follow the first phase of the Southport Inquiry, which found serious failures involving the parents of Axel Rudakubana and various agencies before the 2024 child murders.
Richards also rejected calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales from 10.
He said raising it would undermine “public faith” in the justice system and was “not a priority at all”.
The Bar Council has called for the age to be raised to 14, arguing that criminalising children at such an early age is not an “effective, proportionate or just response”. The United Nations has also previously said the UK should raise the age to at least 14.
The wider government reform programme includes plans for Youth Intervention Courts, greater use of community sentences and a reduction in unnecessary custodial remand for children.
Ministers also want to strengthen support for children at risk of entering the youth justice system and create a new offence targeting adults who exploit children by drawing them into crime.
