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<p>The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving the safety and life chances of
young people in custody. We recognise that in recent years the youth secure estate
has experienced difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff. We are expanding frontline
staff capacity in public-sector Young Offender Institutions: at the start of 2019,
the Youth Custody Service had 315 more frontline officers than 12 months previously
– an increase of 35 per cent. We are also providing funding for every Prison Officer
in the Youth Custody Service to undertake a youth justice qualification and, on completion,
move to a new youth justice specialist role on promotion and at a higher pay-grade.
Over 400 frontline staff are currently enrolled on this qualification.</p><p>We are
working with the National Health Service to deliver an integrated framework of care,
encompassing education, health and behavioural support, to ensure young people receive
full needs assessments and tailored care and support plans. This is in addition to
opening Enhanced Support Units for young people with the most complex needs, and increasing
psychology staffing across the estate.</p>
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