Youth Custody Service safeguarding training
IICSA · Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report · Issued 26 February 2019 · Addressed to: Youth Custody Service
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
The Chair and Panel recommend that the Youth Custody Service takes steps to ensure that its training provides staff with an appropriate understanding of safeguarding in the context of the secure estate, and that this is regularly reviewed and updated.
IICSA, Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report · 26 Feb 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government stated that training reviews were ongoing (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
- No published independent assessment of whether Youth Custody Service training now provides appropriate understanding of safeguarding in secure estate contexts has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
On 23 July 2019, the Ministry of Justice stated that the Youth Custody Service would review the mandatory training for all its frontline staff – including at management level – alongside a review of the content and material where necessary. On 4 October 2019, the Youth Custody Service published its national safeguarding review. It recommended that the Youth Custody Service sites, in conjunction with the local authority designated officer (LADO), develop specific and localised training that meets the emerging needs and threats of the sector. The review also recommended that staff dealing with Matters of Concern should receive appropriate and sufficient training in safeguarding and child protection. On 4 May 2022, the Ministry of Justice stated that the Youth Custody Service was drafting 'Keeping Children Safe in Secure Settings' guidance. This aims to set out requirements for sites that hold children on remand and custodial sentences to: protect children from abuse, respond appropriately to their complaints and set the same safeguarding expectations as all other agencies providing a service to children. The Ministry of Justice confirmed that the guidance will complement mandatory safeguarding training for all new staff and will be subject to targeted public consultation. The Ministry of Justice also stated that the Youth Custody Service intends to publish a Safeguarding Strategy that will outline longer term plans for safeguarding training.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.