Member

The separate parts of the amendment aim to achieve the following: proposed new subsection (2A) in Amendment 124 and Amendment 120 in the name of my noble friend Lord Farmer relate to the Children (Secure Accommodations) Regulations 1991 and currently include important safeguards which apply to children being deprived of their liberty through Section 25 of the Children Act in secure accommodation. These safeguards include the requirement for the Secretary of State to authorise the placement of a child under 13—the youngest child in receipt of a deprivation of liberty order last year was seven. Maximum period orders would need to be authorised and there would be requirements for people to be appointed to review the keeping of the child for the purposes of their welfare. This amendment ensures that the 1991 regulations will apply to children deprived of their liberty through the Government’s new proposed mechanism. It ensures that the regulations will first be consulted on to update standards and requirements in line with the latest evidence and research. Given that the youngest child deprived of their liberty last year was only seven years old, it seems reasonable that the same scrutiny by the Secretary of State should apply to these children as for those held in secure accommodation, as well as the wider points in relation to the maximum period a child can be held, and the review.