Recommendation 10

Following a long-term decline in children in custody, the Ministry and HMPPS anticipate the number of children in custody to more than double from 2021 levels by September 2024. They expect children aged 15 to 17 in young offender institutions (YOIs) will increase from 343 in July 2021 to 700 in July 2025. They attribute this expected increase to courts recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, and government’s plans to recruit additional police officers.25 Currently, HMPPS has spare capacity in its youth secure estate—the occupancy rate was 60% in February 2022—but there is a risk that it will not have the right accommodation for some children’s needs.26 Its provision for more vulnerable children is limited, as the first secure school has not yet opened, and only one STC remains open but is subject to performance concerns.27 SCHs house very vulnerable children, but their legislative arrangements mean that the Local Authority running the SCH may refuse to accept a child if it perceives doing so will compromise that child’s safety and care or that of another child.28