Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of moving children from youth offenders institutes into secure children homes.

The youth secure estate currently has three distinct types of establishments: young offender institutions (YOIs), secure training centres and secure children’s homes (SCHs). We will also open a Secure School this spring, which is also a registered SCH. This enables the Youth Custody Service (YCS) to make placements that are best suited to the needs of the individual child or young person. SCHs accommodate boys and girls aged between 10 and 17 who have complex needs. These placements can be made by local authorities. In addition, children and young people who have been sentenced or remanded to custody may be placed by the YCS in eight of the 14 SCHs in England and Wales. A SCH can decline to accept a placement if it feels it is not able to meet the needs of the individual child, or if accepting the placement would inhibit its ability to meet the needs of other children already accommodated at the home.

The YCS Placement Team considers each child’s placement on a case-by-case basis. It reviews information provided by the child’s Youth Offending Team, looking at the child’s needs, as well as any possible risks to, or originating with the child. The team will also try to consider geographical location and proximity to home as part of their decision making, though other factors may take precedence in terms of decision making. This evidence, together with the child’s immediate presentation following the court appearance, is considered in order to identify a placement that will meet the best interests of the child.

Children and young people are likely to be more suited to one type of accommodation than another. For example, a SCH placement could be more suitable for children with a lower level of maturity, or with complex needs that require a higher level of support; a YOI placement might be considered appropriate where the young person has been observed to pose a risk towards peers and/or members of staff, or needs to access a specific programme or programmes provided at the YOI.