Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to seek powers for the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme to apply to Secure Children’s Homes, and if so, when.

The safety and well-being of children in custody is of utmost importance. We are committed to containing the spread of COVID-19 within all secure settings, including in secure children’s homes (SCHs) – all of which are abiding by the principles of physical distancing within revised regimes.

The End of Custody Temporary Release (ECTR) scheme does not currently apply to SCHs.

Although there are currently no children in SCHs who would meet the public or child protection criteria for ECTR, we will determine how to extend ECTR to SCHs should it become necessary i.e. a child is identified as potentially being or becoming in-scope.