I rise to draw attention to the reservations expressed by the Standing Committee for Youth Justice about the clause. It is concerned that individual support orders have not proved a great success. The clause would allow ISOs to be made more than once, not only simultaneously with an ASBO, and to be attached to  ASBOs that are obtained on conviction or in the county court, whereas at present they are available only in civil proceedings in the magistrates courts.

The committee says that only a limited number of ISOs have been used and suggests that the low take-up rate reflects a lack of knowledge about ISOs among sentencers and youth offending team duty officers. It also suggests that, in cases when a young person had contact with the youth offending team through an existing court order, there was a general assumption that an ISO was unnecessary because it would add nothing to services that were already in place.

The committee put it to me that the Government’s proposals might increase the number of ISOs to an extent, but that they would not deal either of those issues and would reinforce the current perception that support for vulnerable young people subject to ISOs should be provided through the youth justice system, and youth offending teams in particular. It argues that it is a matter for other support services and that the requirements within ISOs could make matters worse—not better—because there could be breach proceedings if the requirements of the ISO were not carried out by the young person. The committee believes that the support services should be available, irrespective of the behaviour of the young person, as a necessary part of rehabilitation. I welcome any comments that the Minister might have about my remarks.