Reforms set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, currently going through parliament, propose to make councils responsible for the cost of remanding young people in custody, as well as giving all remanded children "looked-after" status.
Calculations by CYP Now based on new figures provided by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) show that the extra cost of remands could exceed £40m, while the annual cost of caring for these children once they leave custody could reach £450.48m - a total of more than £490m.
The government hopes that making councils responsible for the cost of remand will bolster efforts on their part to divert children from the criminal justice system, and that by giving children looked-after child support, they will be less likely to reoffend.
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