§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to ensure that all relevant Inspectorates implement Recommendation 2.15 of the Joint Chief Inspectors' report on Arrangements to Safeguard Children. [146289]
§ Paul GogginsThe three relevant Home Office Inspectorates are Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation. I am not able to comment on action by other Inspectorates.
Inspection activity is currently being undertaken by the Home Office Inspectorates in respect of relevant aspects of recommendation 2.15 of the joint Chief Inspectors' report, as follows:
(a) In relation to young offender institutions, inspection of child protection arrangements is a central part of each inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons of Young Offender Institutions and Immigration Removal Centres holding children and young people aged under 18 years. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons also advises Her Majesty's Prison Service on children's safeguarding matters, for example supporting a recent review of safeguarding arrangements in all Young Offender Institutions holding children. The inspectorate also undertakes joint inspection of Secure Training Centres with the Social Service Inspectorate.
(b) In relation to the impact of domestic violence on children: 234W
Police issues: Domestic violence is an area of police activity specifically considered by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) during scheduled Inspections of police forces undertaken during a year. In addition, during 2003, a joint inspection of domestic violence was undertaken by HMIC and the Crown Prosecution Services Inspectorate, which included specific consideration of children's safeguarding issues. The report is due to be published early in 2004. A major HMIC Thematic Inspection on Child Protection is also planned for 2004, to address one of the recommendations made by Lord Laming following the Climbie Inquiry.Probation issues: A thematic element on domestic violence, with a clear focus on children, has been included in the main inspection programme of probation areas by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation—the Effective Supervision Inspection programme. The report on this element is due to be published in summer 2004. The Effective Supervision Inspection programme also includes general consideration of child protection issues in all probation areas.(c) In relation to the work of Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), a joint inspection programme of YOTs is under way, led by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation with involvement from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (along with four other inspectorates). The methodology has been designed to ensure that children's safeguarding issues are covered specifically from early in 2004.
More generally, alongside the specific work above, the Government have put in place arrangements to commission from the Chief Inspectors of services involved with children a joint report on children's safeguards every three years. The next report is due in 2005, A Steering Group involving nine Inspectorates or other regulatory bodies and led by the Social Services Inspectorate has been established to prepare for this.
It is intended that the aim of the report will be:
To review the arrangements across agencies to safeguard children, giving particular attention to children's views and experiences, progress since the last report and the areas identified within the first review as requiring more attention. The review will result in a report to Government making recommendations as necessaryThe themes and subject areas identified have been chosen to ensure that each of the issues highlighted in recommendation 2.15 of the last report is covered. Much of the inspection work will relate to cross-cutting issues between agencies.