Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2023 to Question 152263 on Secure Accommodation: Bristol, for what reasons a young person would be placed in secure accommodation away from their home area.

A child or young person may be placed away from their home area for a number of reasons, including where their individual needs and/or their risk to themselves or others can be managed more appropriately in a different establishment. Children and young people will be placed in the most appropriate available establishment to meet their needs. Any decision is based on information provided by Youth Offending Teams, which the Youth Custody Service (YCS) works with to ensure the needs, risks and circumstances of each young person have been taken into account.

A non-exhaustive list of factors that are considered when making a placement decision is set out in the YCS Placement Team guidance, which can be found at GOV.UK, via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-young-people-in-custody-guide-for-youth-justice-practitioners.