Ministers have acted immediately to end the practice of placing girls in young offender institutions following recommendations from Susannah Hancock’s independent review into the placement and care of girls in youth custody.
The review published today highlights the complex mental and physical health issues these girls often face, with self-harm at a concerning level.
It comes as recent figures show girls are involved in more than half the self-harm incidents across the youth estate in England and Wales, despite accounting for less than two percent of the children in custody.
The intervention will ensure girls are always placed in settings more suited to their needs such as Secure Schools or Secure Children’s Homes.
The decision was informed by feedback from hardworking staff and the vulnerable children in their care. The review found that despite tireless efforts of staff involved in their care, YOIs cannot offer the therapeutic, trauma-informed support these girls need.
Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin said:
Girls in custody are often victims themselves with complex mental health and emotional needs.
Ending their placement in YOIs for good is a first step in drastically improving the support they receive to turn their lives around.
I am grateful to Susannah Hancock for her recommendations, and we will set out our response to each one in due course.
Girls have not been placed in HMYOI Wetherby, the only YOI accepting girls, for several months. This has now been made a permanent decision.
Susannah Hancock was appointed by the government in November 2024 to conduct an independent review into the placement of girls in the children and young people’s secure estate.
The report acknowledges the scope of the challenge at hand, and the department will now consider the full range of its recommendations and develop a long-term action plan in response.
Susannah Hancock said:
I am pleased that the government has acted swiftly in accepting the first recommendation in my review and that girls will no longer be placed in YOIs.
This is an important step forward towards ensuring that all girls in custody receive appropriate levels of support, care and therapeutic interventions to address their physical, mental health and emotional needs.
I look forward to hearing the government’s response to the wider review recommendations and to seeing professionals come together to help make positive changes for these girls.
Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board said:
We welcome the recommendations from Susannah Hancock’s independent review into girls in custody and we are pleased that the Minister has agreed to the immediate removal of girls in young offender institutions.
It is our position, informed by the evidence, that girls should only be placed in secure settings in exceptional circumstances, and when this happens, they should be held in places that are designed to meet their needs. Children in the youth justice system are overwhelmingly boys, and as a result girls’ needs and vulnerabilities can be overlooked, resulting in them encountering poorer experiences and outcomes.
The Youth Custody Service can place girls in different settings across the youth custody estate, including secure children’s homes, the new secure school and Oakhill Secure Training Centre. Girls were previously placed at HMYOI Wetherby following the closure of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, but today’s decision removes this placement option permanently.
