Member

Amendments 120, 123 and 124 raise important issues regarding the approvals process for children under the age of 13, review points for orders made under this section, and provide a number of specific additional safeguards for children subject to orders made under Section 25, in secure or relevant accommodation. There is, I agree, a need for clear safeguards to ensure that children are deprived of their liberty only where it is necessary. That is why the Secretary of State already has powers to make regulations in relation to secure accommodation. Those same powers will be available to the Secretary of State for relevant accommodation. In those powers, we will set out maximum periods for which a deprivation of liberty can be authorised and make it clear that Secretary of State approval will be required where a child is under 13, as is already the case in secure accommodation, given their additional vulnerability.