To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to combat crime among young people. [11857]

Provisions in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 strengthened the powers of the courts to deal with the most serious and persistent juvenile offenders. The single regeneration budget supports many crime prevention activities with a youth focus. My Department also provides core funding for Crime Concern, which works closely with the business sector on a wide range of youth crime prevention programmes. The aim of the new ministerial group on juveniles, which held its first meeting on 18 January, is to strengthen measures to intervene effectively with those children who are most likely to offend.