---

Restraint in Juvenile Secure Settings

On 8 October my right hon. Friend the Minister for Children, Young People and Families (Beverley Hughes) and I announced the appointment of Andrew Williamson CBE and Peter Smallridge CBE as independent co-chairs of the review of restraint in juvenile secure settings. The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have joint responsibility for the review. My right hon. Friend and I undertook to report to the House on progress on the review. On their appointment, the chairs and Ministers expressed a wish for the review to be open and transparent, and that they expected wide consultation. Since then, the chairs have met a wide range of interested parties. The chairs are also visiting all secure training centres and a range of young offender institutions and secure children's homes to learn first hand about restraint and to hear of the experiences and views of both young people and staff. The chairs have invited all interested parties to submit written evidence to the review by 7 December. They will now be considering that evidence. However, the chairs are prepared to receive written submissions after 7 December. The chairs intend to continue consultation, with a view to reporting their recommendations to Ministers by 4 April 2008.