18
Response
Not Accepted
Joint MoJ/DfE policy for children in custody
Recommendation
The Chair and Panel recommend that the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education share policy responsibility for managing and safeguarding children in custodial institutions. This is to ensure that standards applied in relation to children in custody are jointly focussed on discipline and securing child welfare.
Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The Ministry of Justice did not accept this recommendation. The Ministry of Justice stated on 23 July 2019 that it maintains joint working relationships with the Department for Education on secure children's homes, safeguarding, and establishing secure schools, with an aim to replace young offender institutions and secure training centres (Official government response, 4 May 2022). No further published evidence has been identified since May 2022.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
D
Response
Not Accepted
Response
Not Accepted
Not Accepted
UK Government
22 May 2023
On 23 July 2019, the Ministry of Justice stated that it has joint working relationships with the Department for Education on secure children's homes, safeguarding and establishing secure schools. It stated that it aims to replace all young offender institutions and secure training centres with secure children's homes and secure schools.
Source
Inquiry
IICSA
Report
Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report
26 Feb 2019
Responsible Bodies
Ministry of Justice
Primary
Themes & Tags
Recommendation age
7.1 yrs
Last formal update
1038 days ago