§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many under-18 year olds were in each of the last 10 years held in custody in England and Wales on 30 September; broken down by those in(a) each prison, (b) each local authority secure unit and (c) each secure training centre; and in each case how many persons were held aged (i) 10 to 12 (ii) 13 to 14 and (iii) 15 to 16 and (iv) 17 to 18. [81772]
§ Hilary BennThe requested information has been placed in the Library. Information is not held in the detail requested prior to 1995.
Information on juveniles held in local authority secure units and secure training units was not collected centrally prior to April 2000.
Mr. MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the practice of remanding 15 to 16-year-old boys in prison. [82823]
§ Hilary BennFor juveniles a custodial remand should always be the last option considered by the courts. We have provided a wide range of community alternatives including bail support and supervision schemes, tagging on bail and the intensive supervision and surveillance programme.
Where a custodial remand is necessary 15 and 16-year-old boys are remanded to Prison Service accommodation, unless the court considers them particularly vulnerable, in which case they could be remanded to a local authority secure unit.