Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

1999 CHAPTER 23

Commentary on Sections

Part I: Referrals to youth offender panels

Section 6: Youth offender panels

49. Section 6 sets out how the youth offender panel should be set up (subsection (2)), who should sit on it (subsections (3) and (4)), who is responsible for arranging its meetings (subsection (1)) and what happens if the offender moves to a different area part-way through his referral (subsections (5) and (6)).

50. Arrangements for the panel and its meetings will be the responsibility of the youth offending team. The panel will include a member of the youth offending team and at least two other members. It is intended that these other members will be directly recruited from the community by the youth offending team in accordance with qualification criteria to be set out in regulations to be issued by the Secretary of State under negative resolution procedure (which offers both Houses of Parliament an opportunity to object to the criteria chosen).

51. National standards will be devised, and issued in the form of guidance from the Secretary of State, to ensure that the first meeting between the offender and the panel charged with dealing with him takes place promptly following the making of the order.