Joint Protocol between East Riding Children’s Service and the Youth Offending Team in relation to Young People who are Bailed or Remanded to Local Authority Accommodation

Young Offender - A child or young person between the age of 10 and 17 years old who has been arrested for an offence, and who remains subject to an ongoing criminal justice intervention.

Local Authority accommodation is defined by Children Act 1989 as:

• A placement with a family, relative or other suitable person;
• Foster placement;
• A registered children's home; or
• Other accommodation arrangements which seem appropriate and which comply with regulations.

A serious offence is a violent or sexual offence, or an offence punishable in the case of an adult with imprisonment for a term of 14 years or more;

ASSET is the universal assessment profile for young offenders, as directed by the Youth Justice Board. It provides the YOT with a consistent means of assessing the young person’s needs, motivations and risk factors. The profile covers the areas of a young person’s life most linked to offending behaviour, including developmental issues and family personal relationships and the risk of harm. The Assessment Framework Diagram in Working Together to Safeguard Children is largely consistent with those of ASSET profile.

A Single Assessment is carried out by Children's Services, and is the process for determining whether a child is in need or in need of protection, as laid out in the Children Act 1989, and whether the eligibility criteria for further assessment or intervention through service provision are met.

Someone who is granted bail may be required by the court to comply with conditions. Conditions can only be imposed where the court considers it necessary to impose conditions to ensure that the defendant:

• Answers bail;
• Does not commit an offence while on bail;
• Does not interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice;
• Makes himself/herself available for the purpose of preparing pre-sentence and other reports;
• Attends an interview with a solicitor.

The court must give its reasons for any conditions which are imposed.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 places a duty on the local authority to provide bail supervision services. That duty is discharged through the YOT;

Bail supervision services are provided within the legal framework outlined above in relation to conditional bail.

Children aged 10 to 17 years inclusive are remanded into local authority accommodation. The local authority is under a statutory duty to accommodate remanded children or young people. Children who are remanded to local authority accommodation become Looked After Children under the Children Act 1989.

Parental responsibility remains with the child's parents (although the parents cannot remove the child / young person from accommodation). The local authority has a responsibility to ensure that the juvenile is produced in court at the date and time specified. The authority is empowered to take steps to protect the public from serious harm.

The court must decide which local authority is to accommodate the defendant. This may be either the authority where the defendant resides or where one of the offences was committed. Where a child is already being looked after it should be the accommodating authority.

The court must state the local authority Children's Social Care department, which is responsible for accommodating the defendant.

Key responsibilities:

• Meeting the needs of the child;
• Considering protecting the public from serious injury;
• Preventing offending.

The local authority has a duty to accommodate a child remanded to its accommodation under CYPA 1969 s23.

Under S22 (4) of the Children Act 1989, where reasonably practical, the wishes and feelings of the child, those with Parental Responsibility and any other person whose wishes and feelings the authority considers to be relevant, should be sought concerning placement.

Where a juvenile is remanded to local authority accommodation the court may require the juvenile to comply with the same conditions as it could require if granting bail. Before imposing any conditions, the court should consult with the local authority. The conditions can only be the conditions necessary to:

• Ensure attendance at court;
• Prevent further offending;
• Avoid interference with witnesses or obstruction of justice;
• To ensure the defendant complies with the remand conditions;
• Enable reports to be prepared.

The court can specify that the juvenile cannot be placed with a named individual. This is usually a parent. The court cannot specify an address at which the juvenile should be placed; this is a matter for the local authority. The court must explain to the defendant why it is imposing these conditions. Conditions on the defendant or Local Authority need to be carefully recorded.

When conditions are being considered by a court, the Court Duty Officer, or another worker representing the YOT will seek to ensure that:

• The welfare of the child or young person is given adequate consideration;
• Terms are not onerous in view of the age of the defendant;
• Conditions do not unnecessarily conflict with school attendance, the child's religious beliefs, or legitimate and constructive activities;
• Conditions will not conflict with child care responsibilities of the authority;
• The terms of any condition are precise and practicable given the probable placement.

All decisions regarding placement of a remanded child must be made within the regulations and guidance issued under the Children Act. This will be achieved by liaising with the relevant childcare team who will consult with senior managers.

Where approval is given for the placement of a remanded child with their parent(s) or other family members, appropriate supervision and support must be provided. The YOT Support Worker with responsibility for Bail Supervision should be informed in order to devise a package of support.

He/she has been charged with or convicted of a violent or sexual offence*, or an offence punishable in the case of an adult with imprisonment for a term of 14 years or more;

or

Is charged with or has been convicted of one or more imprisonable offences which, together with any other imprisonable offences of which he has been convicted in any proceedings -

or

Would, if he were convicted of the offences with which he is charged, amount, to a recent history of repeatedly committing imprisonable offences while remanded on bail or to local authority accommodation.

*(Note: For the purposes of Section 23 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, a violent or sexual offence is one as listed in Part 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991).

And in addition, in either case, the court is of the opinion, after considering all the options for the remand of the person, that only a secure remand would be adequate: either to protect the public from serious harm from him,

or

To prevent the commission by him of imprisonable offences.

(Note: Serious harm continues to hold the same definition in Section 23 for sexual and violent offences. It is not defined in relation to other offences).

The defendant must be:

• Over 12 years of age;
• Legally represented.

In the case of boys aged 15 and 16 remands with security requirements can only be made if:

• The court is informed that secure accommodation is available; and
• The court is of the opinion that because of the defendants physical; or
• Emotional immaturity it would be undesirable to remand him to a remand centre.

If the child or young person is a looked after child, secure accommodation can be * used if the he/she has been charged with or convicted of a violent or sexual offence*, or an offence punishable in the case of an adult with imprisonment for a term of 14 years or more;

or

Has a recent history of absconding while remanded to local authority accommodation, and is charged with or has been convicted of an imprisonable offence alleged or found to have been committed while so remanded,

• And any for of accommodation is inappropriate because the child is likely to abscond from any other form of accommodation; or
• That if kept in any other accommodation he is likely to injure himself or other persons.

Local authorities are placed under a broad duty to take reasonable steps to avoid the need for children within their area to be placed in secure accommodation.

A defendant remanded on bail with a condition to reside as directed by a local authority can become "looked after" by that authority and, therefore may be placed in secure accommodation, as may children who are subject to a supervision order with a residence requirement under s12A CYPA 1969.

Young people remanded under a Court Ordered Secure Remand are Looked After and Looked After Reviews, therefore, must take place. For further information, see Looked After Reviews Procedure.

Where it is believed that the criteria are satisfied, a local authority may place a child in secure accommodation for a maximum of 72 hours (in any 28 day period) without seeking the authority of a court. If the authority wishes to keep the child in secure accommodation for a longer period it must seek the authority of a court.

A "looked after" child is defined as a child in the care of a local authority or a child provided with accommodation by the authority for a continuous period of 24 hours. It is arguable that this prevents the placement in secure of a child who has not previously been looked after by the authority for more than 24 hours.

Under s.98 Crime & Disorder Act 1998, boys aged 15-16 years should be remanded to secure accommodation if they are assessed as likely to be vulnerable in custody through physical or emotional immaturity, or a potential risk of self-harm.

The Youth Offending Team is under a statutory duty to assess boys aged 15-16 years who are at risk of custodial remand, and alert the Court to any who appear to meet this criteria. The Youth Offending Team Court Duty Officer will also make enquiries with the Youth Justice Board to establish the availability of a secure placement for the young person.

Where a child or young person is remanded to accommodation or custody the initial period is for up to eight days, subsequent remands may be for up to twenty eight days. Remands for reports can only be for twenty one days.

A Police constable can arrest a defendant if they have reasonable grounds to believe the defendant will not surrender to custody, has broken a bail condition or is likely to break such a condition. (There is no obligation upon the custody officer to transfer the defendant to local authority accommodation).

When a defendant is remanded to local authority accommodation a Police constable may arrest a defendant if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant has broken a condition of the remand. Absconding from the local authority accommodation is not a breach of a remand condition but a Police constable can make an arrest. The juvenile must be conveyed back to the local authority accommodation or where the authority directs.

Children subject to Care Orders who offend and receive custodial sentences remain looked after. Therefore, the authority has a continuing responsibility to review their Personal Education Plan (PEP) as part of the Care Plan and to ensure the child’s access to education and training is consistent with their statutory entitlements.

In these cases local authorities should:

• Have procedures in place to know where these young people are placed and how long they are likely to be held;
• Have access to information about the child’s educational progress;
• Plan ahead for suitable educational or training placements wherever the authority responsible for the child’s care arranges for the child to live following release from custody; and
• Work with their Local Authority Secure Children’s Home (LASCH)/Secure Training Centre(STC)/Youth Offending Institution (YOI), in partnership with the Youth Offending Team (YOT) supervising officer, to:
• Ensure information on a child’s education and training needs is passed to the STC/LASCH or YOI;
• Ensure that the learning needs of the individual are being met;
• Continue care planning reviews which facilitate access to education while the young person is detained; and
• Ensure there is proper planning to maintain the continuity of education and/or training experience once the young person is released from custody.

Where a young person who has previously been “accommodated” under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 is subsequently detained in custody, he/she does not remain looked after. However, he/she may need to resume his/her looked after status on release or, depending on his/her age, he/she may be “relevant” a care leaver. Prior to release, the authority that will be responsible for the child’s future care, along with the assigned Youth Offending Team, should:

• Make arrangements with the LASCH/STC/YOI to ensure that the child’s needs have been re-assessed to inform arrangements for his/her future accommodation and care; and
• Ensure that the assessment includes up to date information about the child’s educational needs so that the PEP can be revised as part of the new Care/Pathway Plan.

Where a looked after child is placed in secure accommodation for his/her own welfare (section 25 of the Children Act 1989) local authorities should liaise directly with the secure unit to ensure that they meet their statutory responsibilities to promote the educational achievement of the child.

To effectively undertake the duties of each service, and especially to protect young people and the general public, a commitment to the prompt exchange of necessary relevant information is required

Disclosure of ‘sensitive data’ must only be undertaken in compliance with the provisions of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018.

YOT requests for sensitive personal data from Children's Social Care are almost always made for the explicit and direct purpose of discharging statutory duties in the administration of justice (e.g. the prevention of crime). This data processing does not require subject consent, due to exemptions stated within the Data Protection Principles and also due to s.29 of that Act.

On rare occasions (for example where a ‘Looked After’ child has been the victim of a crime, and information about that person is sought) the above exemptions will not apply. In those cases, the YOT and Children's Social Care caseworkers will agree on an appropriate approach to the subject, bearing in mind what is known about that person’s likely feelings and wishes. If they decline to give informed consent, the information will not be disclosed to the YOT.

Children's Social Care requests for sensitive personal data from YOT case records also fall under two headings. In respect of Child Protection investigations there are similar exemptions to those stated above, and subject consent is not required. For other referrals, Children's Social Care will often need to obtain subject consent prior to undertaking their Single Assessment. In those cases, requests will only be made to the YOT when the necessary subject consent has been obtained.

In all cases where the necessary conditions/consents apply, Children's Social Care and YOT will provide each other with prompt and co-operative access to all relevant information. Should it be considered necessary to withhold particular information (e.g. to protect the identity of an informant, or to avoid compromising the welfare of other family members) this decision must be referred to a manager in the data-holding service, who will then liaise directly with their senior colleague in the data-requesting service.

If information is shared from Children's Services to YOT, this will in practice become accessible to all YOT workers. Similarly, information shared from YOT to Children's Services will inevitably be accessible to all Children's Social Care staff. This situation requires particular care to be taken in respect of safeguarding third-party information which may be subject to particular constraints (for example, psychiatric reports commissioned by a criminal court, or medical reports provided to child protection investigations). Some information may also not be authorised for disclosure to specific individuals or agency, and there may be no justification for any disclosure. Caseworkers in the data-holding service must take particular care to note such material, and either withhold it or flag it as “not for publication or citation”.