MPs to question Children’s Commissioner and youth justice experts on youth custody and sentencing
The Justice Committee will question Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, during the second evidence session of its inquiry into Children and young adults in the secure estate.
Meeting details
During the first panel, MPs on the cross-party committee will hear from Laura Cooper, Director of the Youth Justice Legal Centre and Steph Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales.
The session will explore the effectiveness of both the youth sentencing framework and community-based alternatives to custody. It will examine whether the youth sentencing framework strikes the right balance between punishment, public protection and rehabilitation.
Discussion is also likely to focus on why there is a high and increasing use of custodial remand and whether some children end up in custody due to a shortage of community-based alternatives. MPs may also touch upon whether the measures included in the Government’s youth justice white paper are sufficient.
The inquiry’s first evidence session in April explored whether the current mix of custodial settings are fit for purpose in meeting the welfare and rehabilitative needs of children in the secure estate.