Youth Custody

(asked on 14th December 2023) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5311 on Youth Custody, what steps he is taking to reduce the proportion of children in the secure estate who are on remand.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 21st December 2023

Published statistics show an average monthly population of around 210 children remanded in youth custody at any one time in the year ending March 2022. This is 8% lower than the previous year and 57% lower than the year ending March 2012.

In 2022, the Government further tightened the tests the courts must satisfy to remand a child to custody, and published a review of the use of youth custodial remand. As part of the review’s recommendations, we undertook a consultation about how to reform the funding arrangements for youth remand between August 2023 and November 2023.

The Government commissioned an HMI Probation, HMI Prisons and Ofsted independent joint thematic inspection of work with children on remand which was published in November 2023. We are working with youth justice partners to respond to the 22 recommendations within the thematic report to reduce the number of children on remand. An action plan responding to these recommendations will be published alongside the consultation response in early 2024.

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