BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.

Order. Order.

Hello there, I'm Alicia McCarthy, and this is today in Parliament from BBC Radio 4 for Monday the 18th of May,

where the Justice Secretary sets out his plans to turn children away from a life of crime.

Protecting the public, cutting reoffending and stopping vulnerable children.

So often victims themselves from becoming tomorrow's dangerous adult offenders.

Also on this programme, a minister says economic growth is better than expected,

but the Conservatives ask if it's making a difference.

Can he tell me that a single one of his constituents, apart from those on welfare, feel better off

under this government? And why we urgently need more people able to fix crucial undersea cables.

It's possibly one of the most indispensable professions. If we don't have enough repair crews, modern life will stop.

But first, parents and guardians could face tougher penalties if their children break the law

under a planned shake-up of the youth justice system in England and Wales.

In a common statement, the Justice Secretary David Lammy set out what he called a once-in-a-generation set of reforms.

Under the plans, parenting orders, which can compel adults to address their children's behaviour through counselling and guidance,

would be strengthened and expanded, with a possible increase in fines for breaching an order

beyond the current maximum of £1,000. There'd also be new powers to jail parents in the

most extreme cases. David Lammy told MPs he wanted a system that intervened early, responded

more effectively and did more to turn young lives around.

Most begin their journey into crime long before they come to the attention of the police.

Their lives shaped by instability, by trauma and often by neglect,

the kind of childhood that most of us in this house could barely imagine.

...