Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will publish figures on the average monthly rate of use of force incidents per 100 children and young adults in youth custody for (a) girls and (b) boys in each of the last ten years.

The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority. It is our policy that physical restraint should only be used where there is no other suitable alternative and that staff should first utilise behaviour management techniques that focus on de-escalation and diversion. When restraint is used, we are clear that must be it must always be reasonable, necessary, and proportionate in the circumstances.

Data on the use of physical restraint at secure settings in the secure youth estate is published in the Youth Justice annual statistics. Information on rates of incidents of Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) by gender and the numbers of injuries requiring medical treatment as a result of an RPI are included in supplementary tables 8.6 and 8.7 respectively. Whilst there has been a significant reduction in the overall number of children in custody, girls, although accounting for a smaller proportion of children, present with particularly challenging and vulnerable needs. The latest publication covers the period from 2015 to 2021, and data for years 2010 to 2015 is included in the statistics for 2014 to 2015. The series can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-statistics.

Since June 2020, the Youth Custody Service has been working on revisions to the existing restraint syllabus which is used in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres. It will be piloted followed by a wider roll-out once the pilot scheme has been evaluated.

These revisions represent a significant change for the YCS, as the focus of the new syllabus will be on the positive behaviour management of children in our care. The new syllabus seeks to enhance the ability of staff to manage and de-escalate behaviour, wherever possible, in a child centred manner and reinforce good behaviour.