6th March 2025
Ministry of Justice Youth Remand Concordat
The Ministry of Justice has produced a concordat on the use of remand for children. It sets out the law, guidance and good practice on the remand process with the aim of ensuring all agencies work together to better support remanded children and those at risk of remand.
The signatories are: Ministry of Justice, Youth Justice Board, Youth Custody Service, Welsh Government, Home Office, Department for Education, Crown Prosecution Service, YOT Managers Cymru, Association of YOT Managers, Local Government Association, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, National Police Chiefs’ Council, Magistrates’ Association, National Appropriate Adult Network.
Details
The concordat’s stated aims are:
- Improving the experiences of remanded children;
- Preventing unnecessary use of custodial remand;
- Reducing disparities in remand processes; and
- Ensuring ‘seamless service between stages/agencies’.
The scope of this comprehensive document includes all aspects of the bail and remand process, and it is separated into the following sections:
- At the police station;
- Preparing for the bail/remand hearing;
- Court bail;
- Remand to local authority accommodation; and
- Remand to youth detention accommodation.
Within those sections it summarises the guidance and sets out responsibilities of the various actors. These include:
- The court;
- The Youth Justice Service;
- The defence lawyer;
- Children’s social care;
- The CPS and
- The police.
It places a high standard on all of these actors to work together by helping frontline staff to understand their duties and recognise where collaboration with other agencies should take place.
Notably, it confirms that children’s social care must attend bail and remand hearings in respect of looked after children (p.14) and assist with information to support bail support packages (p.16). It also underscores the legal duties that children’s social care already had to accommodate and put together looked after child plans for looked after children.
Where defence lawyers are concerned, the Concordat effectively emphasises the importance of specialist legal advice and advocacy at this stage of the process. Included in the various duties assigned to the legal representative are:
- “Ensuring proceedings are conducted fairly and in recognition of the different protections and procedures for children compared to adults.
- Applying and advocating for the child to be out of the secure dock during the bail/ remand hearing, including if the child arrived at court from police custody.” (15)
Commentary
This concordat is a continuation of the MoJ’s recognition that children on remand form a high percentage of the overall child custodial population and that many of those children could have been safely managed in the community. It is part of a wider strategy which has included ensuring that custodial remand is recognised as a last resort and developing alternative accommodation options to custody.
The concordat itself is a comprehensive guide and is written in straightforward, clear language. It neatly sets out the responsibilities of each actor for each section so a professional involved in the bail and remand process knows what is expected of them.
Many youth justice practitioners will be particularly pleased with the way in which the concordat sets out the respective duties of the key agencies involved in the process. In particular, the accountability the document gives to children’s social care will be welcomed by many since securing social worker’s attendance at Court has long been an issue in the youth remand process. Additionally, defence solicitors will need to take note of the responsibilities the concordat assigns to them and many will be minded to update their knowledge of the youth remand framework.
Professionals are encouraged to use this document to support their work with children in the criminal justice system. If utilised well, this document has the capacity to have transformational impact on youth remand.
Many youth justice practitioners will be particularly pleased with the way in which the concordat sets out the respective duties of the key agencies involved in the process. In particular, the accountability the document gives to children’s social care will be welcomed by many since securing social workers' attendance at Court has long been an issue in the youth remand process. Additionally, defence solicitors will need to take note of the responsibilities the concordat assigns to them in the process and many will be minded to update their knowledge of the youth remand framework.
Professionals are encouraged to use this document to support their work with children in the criminal justice system. If utilised well, this document has the capacity to have transformational impact on youth remand.
Written by
Robbie Eyles and Ruth McGregor Hamann, YJLC