Young Offenders: Protection
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 211 of the IICSA report Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009–2017, published February 2019, what the terms of reference are of the safeguarding review being carried out on the children’s secure estate; what date the review was established; and what the timetable is for the report from that review to be published.
Government answer
The Youth Custody Service’s internal safeguarding review was established in April 2018, under the following Terms of Reference:
Review, and where appropriate revise, the current operational policies for Safeguarding within the Youth Secure Estate;
Review the processes for handling allegations and complaints, including but not limited to, access, response, investigation and the support offered to children and young people
Review the corporate governance structures for safeguarding given the transfer of functions from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) to the Youth Custody Service (YCS)
Review the staff recruitment and vetting procedures in place and systems for referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Review the safeguarding training offer and arrangements for all staff
Review information sharing arrangements between different departments within establishments, for example between Safeguarding and Security teams.
Ensure the YCS is compliant with and executing its duties in relation to the Working Together guidance issued by the Department for Education, and any other relevant statutory requirements
Scope and establish working relationships with relevant external stakeholders. For example, the chairs of Local Safeguarding Children Boards on the custodial care of children; Association of Directors of Children’s Services; YJB etc.
Make recommendations on policies, processes and procedures, as deemed necessary to improve safeguarding measures for children and young people
Share and disseminate good practice with staff across the youth secure estate, in line with the YCS’s emerging continuous improvement model.
The YCS safeguarding report is in the process of being finalised and I will write to you when the report has been submitted to me.