Government responds to inquiry into child sexual abuse in secure children’s homes

The government's response is that, having considered the research findings, placing children in mixed justice and welfare homes does not create or exacerbate any systemic risk and is therefore not proposing to explore alternative models. It says that there is no conclusive evidence to show that there is an increased risk of sexual abuse to children as a result of being placed in a mixed secure home, and the government is of the view that there are robust safeguarding measures in place to protect children from harm. Ofsted judgements show that secure homes generally provide a higher quality of care than other youth justice secure settings, as recognised by the Children's Commissioner, and government's ambition for the youth secure estate is that all children are accommodated in smaller units that provide child-focussed integrated services.

You can read the response document here. The inquiry report can be read here.