Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of local authority accommodation for children on remand.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there is sufficient accommodation for children in their local area who need it, including those remanded by a court to local authority accommodation. The Youth Justice Board is supporting a three-year project to enable local authorities in London to create bespoke accommodation for children on remand. The aim of the project is to demonstrate both improved outcomes for the children and value for money.