Written question asked by Lord Ouseley (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Henley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 November 2011.

Young People: Crime

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being pursued to reduce or eliminate the adverse effects for involvement in crime of truancy, school exclusion, low educational attainment and socially deprived neighbourhoods.

Answer: The Ending Gang and Youth Violence report sets in motion an ambitious cross-government approach to address the entrenched educational and social failures that can drive problems like gang and youth violence. As the report states, tackling school absence and exclusion is essential to providing young people with the best chance in life and keeping them away from the streets where gangs operate. The Department for Education (DfE) has taken a number of steps to improve school attendance, including: reducing the threshold at which a pupil is defined as persistently absent, so schools take action earlier; reviewing parental responsibility measures; and making schools more accountable by publishing school-level absence data. The DfE has also introduced legislation making it a legal requirement on local authorities to ensure that all pupils they place in alternative provision receive a full-time education. By March 2012, one in 10 secondary schools will also be part of a trial which gives responsibility for purchasing alternative provision to head teachers to ensure schools continue to monitor the attainment of the children they permanently exclude. A new Troubled Families Team in the Department for Communities and Local Government will drive forward the Prime Minister's commitment to turn around the lives of 120,000 troubled families with reduced criminality and violence being key outcomes for this work.

Secondary information