Proposals to slash youth offending rates are being backed by MP Hugo Swire.

Justice secretary Chris Grayling MP wants to help young offenders turn their backs on crime.

Transforming Youth Custody: Putting Education at the Heart of Detention was published last week and aim to cut youth offending rates and deliver value for the taxpayer.

Currently the average cost of a youth custodial place is £100,000 a year - with some as much as £200,000.

And 73 per cent of young offenders who leave custody reoffend within a year.

MP Hugo Swire said: “It is absolutely vital that we tackle re-offending. If we can succeed in turning troubled young people away from a life of crime, and cut reoffending rates, that will mean less crime, fewer victims and safer communities.

“By putting education at the heart of the approach we can help young offenders to get on in life and make a contribution to society.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: “We cannot go on just doing more of the same, pouring more money into a system doesn’t work in the hope of a different outcome.

“That doesn’t make any sense to the taxpayer, or to the young people who we should be trying to get back on the straight and narrow.”