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Children in youth custody will benefit from strengthened safeguarding arrangements under a package of reforms announced by the government following an independent review into child protection across the youth custodial estate.
The measures, announced by the Ministry of Justice, are intended to improve the protection of children in custody through enhanced staff vetting, mandatory safeguarding training, dedicated social workers and greater independent oversight of abuse allegations.
The reforms follow an independent review led by Isabelle Trowler, Chief Social Worker for Children and Families in England, which was commissioned after investigations into historical abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre. The government has accepted all 34 of the review's recommendations in principle, with a number of measures already being introduced.
A central element of the reforms is a requirement for every youth custody setting to have access to a dedicated social worker with specialist child protection expertise. The government said this will ensure safeguarding concerns are independently assessed and provide children with a trusted professional to whom they can report concerns.
Other measures include enhanced recruitment and vetting procedures for staff working with children, mandatory safeguarding training, the introduction of a National Practice Framework to establish consistent professional standards, and the creation of a safeguarding board to oversee child protection across the youth custodial estate and report directly to ministers.
Children will also be able to have complaints raised on their behalf by a trusted adult, such as a family member, advocate or social worker. Welcome information provided when children enter custody will be redesigned to improve accessibility for those with learning difficulties or additional communication needs.
The government has also committed to introducing legislation to provide children in custody with the same formal protections afforded to children in care. Pending legislative change, dedicated social workers will undertake regular welfare checks and provide children with opportunities to raise concerns privately.
Additional reforms include the introduction of a formal safeguarding learning review process, a review of existing policies to ensure they properly reflect children's needs, and redesigned frontline staff training focused on supporting vulnerable children.
Minister for Sentencing and Youth Justice Jake Richards said the reforms were intended to ensure the systemic failures that enabled abuse at Medomsley could never be repeated. He described the historic abuse as a national scandal and said implementing the review's recommendations would strengthen independent oversight, improve safeguarding and help protect children in custody.
Isabelle Trowler said her review found that, although safeguarding had improved in recent years, further action was required to ensure every child in custody is safe, listened to and treated with dignity. She said the experiences shared by children currently in custody, together with the testimony of survivors of Medomsley, underscored the need for lasting reform.
The reforms build on the government's Youth Justice White Paper, published earlier this year, and precede a Youth Custody Transformation Plan expected later in 2026, which will set out longer-term proposals for improving safety, rehabilitation and outcomes for children in custody.
