Secure accommodation for convicted children: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002


Information requested

You asked for the number of children on remand or who have been convicted but are unable to be placed in Secure Care due to capacity or other issues.

Response

Information on referrals on remand are not held centrally. Local authorities have statutory responsibility for the placement of such children in secure care placements, and make referrals directly to secure care services. Each Head of Centre for the independent secure accommodation services plays an important role in assessing and deciding whether or not to accept any individual child’s placement.

The statutory criteria regulating children’s eligibility for referral to secure care are tightly drawn. A change in circumstances or in a child’s own individual need and risk profile may mean that, while a potential placement into secure care may be being considered by the relevant agencies, an alternative to secure care represents a more appropriate placement.

Secure Centres have robust matching procedures, and following the Care Inspectorate’s guidance:

Admissions_Guidance_for_Residential_Services.pdf

A placement in respect of any child may only be accepted if the relevant secure accommodation Head of Centre is confident that their centre can meet the needs of the individual referred child, while also keeping safe all other children already in their care.

Scottish Ministers are responsible for placing and managing those under 18s sentenced under sections 205 and 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. We do not hold data on the number of children where a placement into secure accommodation has initially been identified as required, but ultimately was not provided.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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