To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will take urgent steps to ensure that vulnerable young people at Thorncross Young Offender Institute continue to receive their entitlement to services under the Children Act 1989 after March 2007. (108182)

[holding answer 11 December 2006]: The statutory duty to provide services to children and young people in need rests with local authorities and I expect them to act in accordance with this responsibility. My Department has been discussing with local authority representatives, the Home Office and the Youth Justice Board how local agencies can best discharge their statutory responsibilities in meeting the needs of vulnerable young people in custody, including where they are or may be children in need as defined in the Children Act 1989.