Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people in custody.

The safety and wellbeing of the children and young people in custody remains a top priority during this unprecedented period. We are very sensitive of the difficulties many children in custody will have experienced as a result of Covid-19, and the necessary measures taken to protect children and staff and follow physical distancing requirements. The Youth Custody Service (YCS) have communicated with staff and children to ensure they are aware and understand the reasoning as to why such measures have had to occur.

During this time, ‘SECURE STAIRS’ - the integrated framework of care jointly led by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the YCS - has adapted its approach to meet the needs of children, whilst adhering to physical distancing.

Having initially focused on delivering essential activities such as regular phone calls (with young people having been allocated additional free phone credits) access to showers, entertainment and education materials, and time in the fresh air, delivery of ‘face to face’ education and social visits are being prioritised across our sites, as we progress with Covid-19 recovery work. The YCS is working closely with its partners to further expand the regime in a safe, sustainable and flexible manner, whilst ensuring that the safety of children and staff remains paramount.

We are also carrying out work to ensure that lessons learned from the Covid-19 period are taken into account going forwards. The YCS have commissioned a programme of research, in collaboration with academics, to evaluate and learn lessons from the impact and response to Covid-19 and the results will inform their recovery planning.