To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people under the age of 18 years who are remanded in custody; and if he will make a statement; (285661)

Figures provided by the Youth Justice Board indicate that the number of young people under 18 remanded in custody or to local authority secure care has fallen significantly over the last few years. Since the peak year of 2003-04, court-ordered secure remands have fallen by 40 per cent. and remands in custody by 21 per cent.

In each particular case it is for the court to decide, in the light of all the circumstances, whether to grant bail, to remand the young person to the care of a local authority or, if the young person is aged 17, to remand him or her in custody. (Some boys aged 15 and 16 may also be remanded in custody.)

In the Youth Crime Action Plan, we indicated our intention to strengthen the response to youth crime at a local level, by supporting local authorities to provide earlier interventions and so reduce the need for custodial places. Youth Offending Teams have a range of non-secure remand options. These include remand fostering; bail support and curfew schemes; and the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme, which includes electronic monitoring.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will commission research into the reasons for the reduction in the use of non-secure remand to local authority accommodation for those under the age of 18 years of age since 2000; and if he will make a statement. (285663)

Figures provided by the Youth Justice Board indicate that the peak year for remands of under-18s in the period in question was 2004-05. Between then and 2007-08, the total figure for remands of all kinds—secure and non-secure—fell by 33 per cent. Non-secure remands to local authority care fell by 36 per cent. The Youth Justice Board is monitoring these trends and is exploring ways of further incentivising local authorities to provide alternatives to custody.