Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued to Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service on young people at risk of offending visiting prisons under (a) the KeepOut crime diversion scheme and (b) other initiatives.

The Review of the Youth Justice System in England and Wales, published in December 2016, considered the use of programmes in which either prison officers or prisoners themselves attempted to deter children from criminality by showing or explaining the realities of life in prison. The report of the Review expressed concern at the use of such programmes in England & Wales, in the light of international evidence that such interventions can increase the likelihood of offending among children and young people.

In view of the report’s examination of this issue, HM Prison & Probation Service reviewed these programmes and decided that they should no longer be facilitated.