Submitted by: The Prison Reform Trust

The National Council of Women, concerned that: (i) we imprison over 6000 children (under 18s) in England and Wales each year, some as young as ten; (ii) the number of children imprisoned has more than doubled since 1989; (iii) of these children, a third have committed non-violent offences; (iv) the children we imprison are some of the most socially excluded, a quarter have literacy and numeracy levels of an average seven year old, half have a history of being in care, and at least a quarter have experienced violence at home, urges Her Majesty’s Government:

(a) to treat children in trouble as children in need and address their welfare needs as well as their offending behaviour;

(b) to promote community sentences for children who have committed non-violent offences.