HC Deb 21 April 1993 vol 223 cc125-6W
Mr. Riddick

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will publish the report of the advisory group on the youth treatment service; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Yeo

The first annual report is being published today, and copies have been placed in the Library. I welcome the publication of this report and I am grateful to the chairman, Mrs. Winifred Tumim, and her group for producing a constructive and helpful summary of the issues.

The report demonstrates that the youth treatment service has made good progress since the events which led to the setting up of the group. I am confident that under the new management arrangements for the service introduced last April, progress will continue. The Government are committed to ensuring that children and young people are treated properly wherever they live; and the recommendations in this report should help to ensure that the rights of young people in the youth treatment service continue to be adequately safeguarded. I have asked the chief executive of the service to implement the recommendations, and he has reflected this in his service annual plan for 1993–94, copies of which are also being placed in the Library.