§ Mr. DawsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has given to(a) the Care Standards Commission and (b) Social Services Department since 29 November on the application of the Children Act 1989 to children held in prison custody. [88234]
§ Jacqui SmithThe Howard League for Penal Reform took the Home Office to judicial review over a statement in Prison Service guidance that the Children Act 1989 did not apply to children under the age of eighteen in prison establishments. Mr. Justice Munby's judgment, handed down on 29 November, ruled that the Children Act 1989 applied to children in prison, subject to the requirements of imprisonment. The judgment upheld the Prison Service's policy in relation to juveniles in custody. One sentence in its policy, which was to be changed regardless of the outcome of the judgment, has been found to be wrong. This will now be changed by the Home Office in the context of the judgment.
The Department therefore sees no immediate need to revise existing guidance to councils with social services responsibilities, or to the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC). In the latter case, this is because the NCSC is responsible for children's services, regulated under the Care Standards Act 2000, which does not include prison establishments. However, we will, together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, carefully study Mr. Justice Munby's judgment, in the context of the recommendations of the Joint Chief Inspectors' report, "Safeguarding Children".