Agreement between UK Government and Welsh Government on youth justice and probation
Published 25 March 2026
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2026
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On youth justice, as part of wider forthcoming reforms to the youth justice system, the UK and Welsh governments will agree an expanded and clearly defined role for the Welsh Government.
Since the current arrangements for youth justice services were established in 1998, the context in which services operate in Wales has changed considerably, with the majority of staff employed by devolved services, the majority of work undertaken on preventative activity and the majority of funding coming through devolved budgets. Both governments are committed to updating the arrangements to reflect these developments.
The UK Government will start this new arrangement by devolving funding to reduce the use of remand for children in Wales (a shared goal of both governments), and devolving the remaining funding for early intervention, currently delivered through the Turnaround programme, supported by a new partnership agreement between the two governments. Both changes will take effect from April 2027. Together, this adds up to millions of pounds that the Welsh Government will direct to support children and communities across the country. As well as reducing bureaucracy in current funding arrangements and supporting more streamlined delivery, devolution of funding will provide the flexibility to align investment with Welsh priorities and direct funding in a way that allows services to better tailor interventions, innovate and provide support that reflects the specific needs of Welsh children. Both governments will also immediately begin discussions about going further than remand and early intervention funding, exploring an expanded role for the Welsh Government in relation to the Youth Justice Core Grant from 2027/28.
Both governments’ goals for a clearer and bigger role in youth justice for the Welsh Government go beyond funding. As part of the reforms outlined in the Ministry of Justice’s Command Paper, the UK Government will be reviewing and reforming the oversight of and strategy for youth justice services, and reforming the role of the Youth Justice Board to strengthen democratic accountability. As it begins that work, the UK Government will work closely with the Welsh Government to reflect the role of Welsh democratic institutions in providing that strengthened democratic accountability for devolved services in Wales, with a view to an expanded and clearly defined role for the Welsh Government.
On probation, the two governments and Wales’s four Police and Crime Commissioners have committed to work together to produce a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen flexibility within Wales by the end of 2026. An agreement published today (25 March 2026)sets out the expected content of that MoU and the process to be followed in completing it, with local government also expected to be signatories.
The MoU will focus on areas where reoffending can be reduced through closer cooperation between the Probation Service and devolved services in Wales like local government, housing and healthcare among others.
The UK Government remains committed to a strategic review of probation governance in the course of this Parliament, and as part of that it will explore with Welsh Government how devolved models could enable them to be more locally responsive.