A vital service which keeps young offenders off the streets is being slashed to the bone by brutal budget cuts.

Monmouthshire’s Youth Offending Service (YOS) must find £155,000 in savings for the next year, with seven jobs facing the axe.

The provision works to blunt re-offending by young people by supervising and guiding them through various processes of the justice system, with the hope of steering them clear of crime.

Services heading for swingeing cuts are currently shared with Torfaen council, which has been forced to shred its £50,000 contribution.

At a cabinet meeting last week, councillors said the service faced huge cuts on three fronts, losing £69,000 from the police, probation and other grants.

Provision will be cut to a minimum level, with one police officer and a probation officer both leaving the service. Just one from each role will remain in post.

Seven jobs - including social worker and professional roles - will be axed to balance the books. Two admin jobs will also be cut to part-time hours after a call to cut the management team from three to two positions, was rejected.

Jacalyn Richards, Youth Offending Service manager said, ”The Youth Offending Service identified a budget deficit during the budget setting process for this financial year as a result of a number of reductions to our grant allocations and a new funding formula introduced by the National Probation Service.  

“The YOS management team have worked in partnership with the Local Management Board to put forward savings that are realistic and achievable and present the least possible threat to the service.  

“We believe that the proposals put forward, and approved by Cabinet today, allow us to continue to ensure that our staff are well supported with realistic and manageable workloads to ensure that they can continue to provide the best possible service to our children and young people, their families, communities and the victims of youth crime.

"The Youth Offending Service has been successful in effectively and significantly reducing the number of First Time Entrants to the Youth Justice System year-on-year.  

“It is vital that we continue to be resourced sufficiently to ensure a continued commitment and focus to our prevention and early intervention agenda.

"As our grant funding is becoming increasingly under threat it is more important than ever that our statutory partners (Torfaen CBC, National Probation Service, Gwent Police and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board) maintain their commitment to the partnership.”