§ Mr. SweeneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advice he has issued to local authorities regarding juveniles in council homes, including the use of restraint where necessary; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesDraft guidance on permissible forms of control in children's residential care was issued for consultation to Welsh local authorities and voluntary organisations in November 1992. As a result of that exercise, which ended in December 1992, the guidance was changed substantially from the draft originally circulated.
The final guidance issued by the Department on 29 April 1993 under cover of Welsh Office circular 38/93 was much stronger and more explicit. It sets out a broad framework of principles and circumstances where a child may be restrained. It is designed to cover young people living in both secure and open children's homes and offers positive and practical advice to staff and managers on the care and control of young people in residental care. At the same time, it recognises that managers will need to decide who best to put this guidance into operation. The onus is on the care worker to make judgments as to whether restraint is required in the predominating circumstances and to determine the degree of restraint appropriate and when it should be used. Copies of this guidance are being placed in the Library of the House.