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<p>Our priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of all children in custody,
both sentenced and on remand, whilst ensuring the public is protected and we are considering
all the options available to maintain this approach. I can assure you we will take
the necessary actions in the interests of children in custody and the wider community.
That is why we have been progressing work to review the cases of those children serving
a custodial sentence in the youth estate who may be eligible for early release under
the End of Custody Temporary Release (ECTR) programme. Work has been taking place
alongside NHS England & NHS Improvement and the Youth Justice Board to produce
joint operational guidance, with the appropriate Youth Offending Teams (YOT) and local
authorities updated accordingly. Eligibility for the ECTR programme is determined
by the offence type and level of risk that children and young people pose to themselves
and others. In addition to this, children will only be eligible if they are serving
a custodial sentence.</p><p> </p><p>We are continually reviewing procedures to support
access to justice during the emergency period due to Covid-19, particularly for the
most time-critical and sensitive cases, such as youth custodial remand cases. Custodial
remand should only be used as a last resort for children and only in the most serious
cases. When a child is remanded to custody, the child’s case is regularly reviewed
by the local Youth Offending Team which, if appropriate, will apply to the court for
a bail hearing. The court will then carefully consider the circumstances of the case
and reach a decision of whether to bail a child into the community, or remand the
child back to custody. These decisions must be considered by the court on a case by
case basis, and a child will only be released from custodial remand into the community,
if the court deems it is safe to do so. Courts are working very closely with the judiciary
to prioritise caseload and case types.</p><p> </p><p>Those who meet the ECTR criteria
will only be released if their YOT manager confirms that their accommodation is safe,
suitable and sustainable. All children released under ECTR will be subject to electronic
monitoring. If children and young people do not already have their own phone, or access
to one then they can be provided with a basic non- internet enabled mobile phone.
This will enable them to maintain contact with their YOT, family/carer and establishment
from the moment of release. No child will be released without accommodation and bed
and breakfast accommodation will not be deemed suitable.</p><p> </p><p>Given these
necessary safeguards for the child and the public, and the higher threshold for custodial
sentences in youth justice in the first place, this means that only a small number
of children are in scope for this release. None have yet completed the process and
fewer than ten will be eligible in the next three months, but children do also continue
to be released from custody in the usual way.</p>
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