Parents could lose their benefits or face prison sentences for their children’s crimes under reforms to the youth justice system, a minister has said.

Youth Justice Minister Jake Richards told the Times newspaper the system “should hold parents to account in a proportionate way for ensuring that they play their role in keeping communities safe”.

His comments come after the government set out plans in May to strengthen and expand Parenting Orders, which can currently compel parents or guardians to address their child’s behaviour by attending counselling sessions or face fines.

Richards said prison sentences would only apply “in the most extreme cases” and would be up to judges’ discretion.

He described the proposed changes in England and Wales as part of a “carrot-and-stick” approach.

“Parenting orders are going to make sure that parents are more involved in the process by which we try to turn around young offenders,” Richards told the Times.

“Yes, that will have some stick. It could be custodial, or docking benefits – ultimately it will be up to a judge. But we want them to be more involved and that comes with responsibilities as well.”

Critics of the proposals say engaging with parents on a voluntary basis is generally more effective in building trusting relationships and providing support.

Jess Mullen, chief executive of the Alliance for Youth Justice which represents more than 70 organisations that advocate for children, previously questioned how putting parents in prison would provide “stability or support for the child”.

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, told the BBC: “Reforming parenting orders in this way risks being ineffective at best and counter-productive at worst.

“Criminalising parents is unlikely to help children who need support, and putting them behind bars would only put further strain on a failing prison system that is already bursting at the seams.”

When the government white paper was announced in May, then Justice Secretary David Lammy said that strengthening parenting orders would mean “there are real consequences for parents and carers who wilfully fail to support efforts to address their children’s behaviour.”

He told BBC Breakfast at the time that if a parent was struggling, then the “judge can intervene to make sure that the young person is getting the support that they need and the parent is doing the best that they can”.

He also said he expected the power to jail parents to be used “very, very rarely”.

Courts are currently required to consider issuing a Parenting Order where a child under 16 has been convicted of an offence.

They can also consider an order for 16 and 17-year-olds if they believe this would help prevent further offences.

The term of the order must not exceed 12 months and breach of a parenting order is a criminal offence with a maximum £1,000 fine, according to the Sentencing Council.

However, government statistics show the use of parenting orders has declined in recent years, from more than 1,000 orders in 2009/10 to just 33 in 2022/23.

The government’s youth justice reform plans come after Phase One of the Southport Inquiry report found “catastrophic” failures by the parents of the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana and various agencies meant clear chances to prevent the 2024 child murders were missed.

In the interview with the Times, Richards also rejected calls from lawyers to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10, saying it would undermine “public faith” in the justice system and it was “not a priority at all”.

In June, the Bar Council, the representative body for barristers in England and Wales, said the threshold should rise to 14 due to criminalisation at such an early age not being an “effective, proportionate or just response”.

The United Nations has previously pointed out the UK has some of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in the world and that it should rise it to the UN recommendation of at least 14.

On Thursday, ministers met with local leaders and experts in Manchester to discuss how devolution could help reform youth justice.

Additional reporting by André Rhoden-Paul & Shelley Phelps, political correspondent