Councils stung by 500m youth remand bill
Neil Puffett
Monday, September 19, 2011
The government's proposed changes to the youth justice system could cost local authorities an additional half a billion pounds each year, an investigation by CYP Now has found.
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.
Looked-after status
But Tim Bateman, criminologist at the University of Bedfordshire, said the additional costs will leave authorities struggling. "I'm sure local authorities will try very hard to end the looked-after status immediately after the child has left custody," he said. "Whether they will be able to do that within the legislation remains to be seen."
In addition to the responsibility for children once they leave custody, councils could face the prospect of providing leaving care entitlements to children that spend 13 weeks or more on remand. This would include financial support and accommodation.
Di Hart, principal officer of youth justice and welfare at the National Children's Bureau (NCB), fears the level of support offered could be inadequate, with councils simply setting out a care plan for children while they are in custody. "I can't see [local authorities] throwing themselves into this," she said.
According to Andrew Webb, policy lead on youth justice at the Association of Directors of Children's Services, work is going on with the YJB and Ministry of Justice to outline what kind of help authorities will be required to provide when children on remand become classed as looked after.
"We have agreed to do more detailed work on what is meant by looked-after status," he said. "We need to pull out from the regulations just that which will make a positive difference."
The YJB was unable to give an estimate of the potential cost of changes relating to remand. But Lucy Dawes, YJB director of performance, said the organisation has "committed to make an associated transfer of funding to local authorities to meet the costs of new policies on remands".
According to the figures released to CYP Now by the YJB, beds in secure training centres cost an average of £760.50 a night (£277,583 a year) and can be as much as £861.40 a night. Based on the current remand capacity of 25,185 beds a year, the total annual cost of remand in these settings could reach £19m.
The average cost of a bed in a secure children's home is £578.08 a night (or £211,000 a year), while in young offender institutions (YOIs) it is £156.16 a night (or £57,000 a year).
In 2009/10, eight per cent of remands involved children aged 10 to 14, who are required by law to receive secure remands, in most cases to secure children's homes, resulting in 11,928 bed nights at a cost of £6.9m.
Based on 2009/10 figures for total remand bed nights, of which there were 149,776, this leaves as many as 112,663 bed nights in YOIs at a cost of £17.59m, putting the total annual cost of remand annually at £43.53m.
Remand costs
Local authorities currently foot one third of the cost for court-ordered secure remands, which equates to around £2.3m, but pay nothing for all other forms of remand. Subtracting this amount leaves the total additional annual cost of remand beds at £41.23m.
Children subject to court-ordered secure remands are already given looked-after status; 12- to 14-year-old boys and 15- and 16-year-old girls placed in secure children's homes or secure training centres. The change would mean all those sentenced to prison custody - 3,007 in 2009/10 - will also get the status.
Residential care can cost up to £2,881 a week (or £149,812 a year) according to latest Department for Education figures. Consequently, the annual cost of caring for these children once they leave custody could reach £450.48m. Combined with the bill for remand beds, councils will be left to find an extra £491.7m.
Despite the additional financial implications, however, the changes have been well received in the youth justice sector. Former YJB chair Rod Morgan said all children in custody should be treated as looked-after children, with "commensurate entitlements".
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill is currently at committee stage in the House of Commons.
COST OF REMAND FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Average cost per bed per night by accommodation type
Secure training centres £760.50
Secure children's homes £578.08
Young offender institutions £156.16
Source: Youth Justice Board, Department for Education
The total additional cost for local authorities
Additional cost of remand beds £41.23m
Additional cost of looked-after children £450.48m
TOTAL £491.7m
Annual cost of housing a looked-after child in residential care £149,812
