Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 29 of the National Audit Office's report entitled Children in custody: secure training centres and secure schools, published on 28 April 2022, whether it remains the case that children are being transferred to Young Offender Institutions who would have previously been considered too vulnerable.

All children, whether vulnerable or not, are placed first and foremost on the basis of their needs. Within the Young Offender Institution (YOI) sector of the Youth Secure Estate, the Keppel Unit at Wetherby YOI, and the Enhanced Support Units and Teams at Wetherby and Feltham YOIs have all been specifically developed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and complex children placed in YOIs.

We are committed to providing children with suitable and safe accommodation. We acknowledge that performance of parts of the youth estate has not been good enough in recent years and are committed to taking appropriate action to address those issues and drive up standards wherever necessary.