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Northern Ireland: Youth Justice Agency

Volume 701: debated on Monday 12 May 2008

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 24 April (WA 317), how the annual costs of the Northern Ireland Youth Justice Agency since its creation are broken down. [HL3315]

The information is provided in the following table.

Summary of Income and Expenditure: 2003-04 to 2007-08

2007-081

2006-07

2005-06

2004-052

2003-042

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Income

(143)

(64)

(106)

(283)

(356)

Staff Costs

15,506

14,323

12,351

10,185

8,263

Administration Expenditure

3,957

4,916

3,850

2,352

2,912

Programme Expenditure

2,104

2,093

1,389

585

449

Depreciation

714

3,032

1,532

1,386

1,231

Cost of Capital

485

469

497

356

351

Impairment of Fixed Assets

(795)

1,318

-

-

-

Net Operating Costs

21,828

26,087

19,513

14,581

12,850

1 Figures are provisional as they are subject to audit. Overall provisional out-turn figure of £21,828,000 supersedes the previously quoted forecast figure of £22,214,000.

2 Amounts stated exclude the impact of a change in accounting for NILGOSC Pension Liabilities under FRS17.

The table above sets out an analysis of the costs of the Youth Justice Agency since its creation. The following notes should be read in conjunction with the table.

(a) The annual increase in staff costs since the inception of the agency is due to the growth in services provided, in particular the role out of the Youth Conference Service and the expansion of Community Services coverage across Northern Ireland.

(b) Staff costs from 2005-06 onward include an additional £500,000 (approx) of pension costs in each year as a result of a change to the accounting treatment of the NILGOSC pension scheme under FRS17.

(c) The provisional staff cost figure for 2007-08 includes a further one-off provision for £1 million of pension costs payable to the NILGOSC scheme arising from certain allowances being included within the pensionable pay of some agency staff.

(d) Depreciation costs in 2006-07 include the write-off of the remaining net book value of the old Rathgael Juvenile Justice Centre building in that year upon the closure of that site.

(e) Total operating costs in 2006-07 include an impairment of £1.3 million reflecting the difference between the capitalised cost of building the new Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre and the valuation by Land and Property Services (LPS) at 31 March 2007. This impairment is partially reversed in the provisional 2007-08 figures following an upward revaluation of the new centre by LPS at 31 March 2008.