§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any detention and training orders have yet been imposed on young offenders; if so, how many; and what plans exist for imposing such orders in the coming two years. [HL1078]
§ Lord RookerThe detention and training order was introduced for 12 to 17 year-olds on 1 April 2000. Home Office statistics indicate that 5,072 orders were made in the period 1 April 2000 to 31 December 2000. The number of orders to be imposed in the future will be a matter for the courts.
35WA
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
In relation to offenders under 18 years of age, what plans they have (a) to increase the use of suspended custodial sentences, whether or not in conjunction with other penalties or orders; (b) to introduce family conferencing; and (c) to make restorative justice more widely available. [HL1079]
§ Lord RookerThere is currently no provision to suspend custodial sentences for under-18s and we do not have any plans to introduce them for this age group.
The recent reforms to the youth justice system have incorporated restorative principles. In particular, the final warning system (which was introduced nationally in April 2000) and referral order (which is currently being piloted) offer the opportunity for restorative interventions, involving, where appropriate, the offender, the victim, families of both and the community. The Government have not specified the precise model which such interventions should follow and both victim/offender mediation and conferencing are currently being employed.
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is seeking to identify and disseminate good practice by working with the police, probation service, magistrates and national voluntary bodies, and is developing training in restorative justice for local practitioners. The board is also funding and evaluating 46 restorative justice schemes in England and Wales and providing restorative justice support to all of the 154 youth offending teams in England and Wales.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have introduced or will introduce independent lay representation for people under 18 years of age in custody, whether on remand or following sentence, similar to that available in Northern Ireland. [HL1077]
§ Lord RookerThe Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is responsible for commissioning and purchasing secure accommodation for under-18s and works with providers, including the Prison Service, to raise standards.
The board is currently assessing the feasibility of adapting to the prison estate the advocacy models for under-18s which already exist in other residential care settings.