§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department is planning to issue operational guidance on how the Criminal Justice Act should be administered by social services departments in order to accommodate young people who would previously have been maintained within the prison system.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyA national steering group, comprising representatives of all the relevant Government Departments and local agencies, has been established to take this work forward. Its remit will be to bring forward an action plan and timetable for the development of services and facilities to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place to enable the practice of remanding juveniles to penal custody to be abolished.