On 12 July I announced a review of restraint in juvenile secure settings in the House and, on 26 July, I set out the broad terms of reference for the review. The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have joint responsibility for the review. My right hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Beverley Hughes) is the lead Minister for DCSF.

My right hon. Friend and I are pleased to announce that we have appointed Andrew Williamson CBE and Peter Smallridge CBE as independent joint chairs of the review.

This is a very important and sensitive review and we warmly welcome the skills and experience that Mr. Williamson and Mr. Smallridge will bring to it. They have strong backgrounds in management in the public sector, having both been Directors of Social Services in large local authorities where they had responsibilities both for services for children and for secure provision. More recently they have been involved in the NHS, where they currently both chair NHS Trusts. They both have considerable experience of participating in and chairing reviews in the NHS and in Social Services. They also have a track record of working together at many levels, including joint working for the Department for International Development in developing child protection services in Eastern Europe.

The chairs will be considering whether any further issues should be brought within the broad terms of reference of the review and will decide soon the process for calling for evidence and for consulting with interested parties. We know that the chairs wish the review to be open and transparent and they are expecting to consult widely.

My right hon. Friend and I have asked the chairs to report to Ministers within six months of the date of this announcement.