A new approach to youth justice was promised by ministers yesterday in which equal weight would be given to prevention, enforcement and the rehabilitation of young offenders.

In an attempt to stave off criticism from the UN this year, Ed Balls promised that the measures to be announced in the summer would improve education and pastoral care for 10 to 17-year-olds in custody.

Mr Balls, the Children, Schools and Families Secretary, promised a “triple track” approach of tough enforcement, early intervention to tackle the causes of violent and antisocial behaviour, and support for youngsters to get their lives back on track.

He defended Britain's record in locking up more children than other EU countries, which is likely to be criticised when the UN assesses how the Government is honouring children's rights. Its report is due in the autumn.

“In the most serious cases - such as knife crime - it's right that young people should face a custodial sentence,” Mr Balls said.

“But when they are in custody, we must give these young people the education and support they need to make a new start.”

Although Mr Balls emphasised the need to lock up youngsters involved in serious crimes, he wants the overall number in custody reduced. The use of custody for 10 to 17-year-olds rose by 2 per cent between 2003-04 and 2006-07, with an average of more than 2,900 in custody at any time.

As the Youth Justice Board admitted in its annual report last month, the consequences have put pressure on secure facilities, with a knock-on effect on the education and training that Mr Balls wishes to provide for youngsters.

The Board said that in 2006-07: “There were areas of falling performance” such as the “provision of education and training in young offender institutions and secure children's homes”.

Penal reformers argue that only if the number of youngsters in custody falls will youth jails and secure training centres have the breathing space to provide the kind of education and help that Mr Balls wishes to give young offenders.

The Children's Secretary and his Cabinet colleague Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, will also have to sort out the Youth Justice Board. Responsibility for the board was split between the Children's department and the Ministry for Justice when Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister a year ago. It was a recipe for Whitehall wars - and so it has proved.

Mr Balls's ministerial colleagues will be out in force this week to defend the Government's strategy on young children. They will argue that millions have been poured into nurseries, early years education and tax credits in an attempt to alleviate child poverty and give youngsters the best start in life.

The four children's commissioners say that despite all the investment in young children, attitudes have hardened towards older children since Labour came to power, mainly because of its antisocial behaviour agenda.

Speaking to The Times, Keith Towler, the children's commissioner who leads on juvenile justice and who also speaks for children in Wales, said that Britain still expected too much of young people. “The age of criminal responsibility here is 10 years old, and 8 in Scotland, far higher than other parts of Europe where it ranges from 14 to 18. We have high expectations of young people in terms of their ability to determine right from wrong,” he said.

Mr Towler said that he and the other commissioners detected little understanding of the pressures on teenagers and a growing intolerance of the perfectly normal things that most get up to. The ASBO legislation had made the public think that hanging around on street corners was now illegal, he said. “It seems we now disapprove of normal childhood behaviour. Hanging around, kicking a ball around and chatting and laughing is normal, but people think the police should be called to deal with it.

“ASBOs have quickly become part of our culture, part of our everyday vocabulary and the term is used to describe children who meet up with their friends outside their home.”

The Children's Commissioners plan to step up their campaign against the “mosquito” - a device that emits a high-pitched bleep that only young people can hear. It has been used to drive away teenagers who hang around outside shops, but the commissioners say they typify the growing intolerance for teenage behaviour. There are estimated to be 3,500 of the devices in use in England, many at shopping centres.

Mr Towler said that he fears tolerance towards teenagers will diminish even further in a economic downturn. “This hardening of attitudes towards young people has taken place in a period of economic prosperity, when people are generally more relaxed and tolerant. I really fear for what might happen in terms of attitudes following the credit crunch.”

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