Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to amend the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to align with the changes to the criteria for the use of court remand for children introduced in the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

Police custody is a core element of the criminal justice system and is critical for keeping the public safe. The Government maintains that children should only be detained in custody as a last resort and any opportunities to divert children away from custody should be taken.

The Government is aware of concerns regarding children being detained in police custody overnight and therefore introduced the Concordat on Children in Custody protocol for when children have been charged and bail has been refused. The Concordat sets out the statutory duties of the police and local authorities and provides a protocol for how transfers of children from custody to local authority accommodation should work in practice.

The Government has no plans to amend the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 at present but will keep under review the implementation of the changes for court remand for children introduced in the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.