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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

As we have gone through the Bill, I have mentioned a number of times the fact that we are tackling one thing in isolation when in fact we are talking about something that reflects on many other aspects of the treatment of young people in the justice system. Yesterday, for example, I quoted a conversation with a senior officer who, having been introduced to what a speech and language therapist could do with and for a young person, recognised that he and others had been damaging that person because they had been putting things down to bad behaviour and treating him wrongly. On reflection, it emerged that one of the problems was that these sensible words about what needed to be taken into account on behalf of the child were not there as part of what the young offender institution had to do for that person. When I took a speech and language therapist in with me and asked her to carry out an assessment of young people in custody, she came up with all sorts of important things, such as memory loss and various other aspects, which meant that the institution itself was not tackling the needs of the child. It is therefore entirely appropriate that the amendment be included to cover the process right from the start, when the person is being considered. Those needs should be followed right through everything done with and for the young person—whether in the community, an institution or whatever. It goes back to this vital point: if you put the interests of the child first, all the protection and the other things we talk about will follow. That is absolutely crucial.