In response to concerns expressed by the Welsh Assembly Government, the YJB is reviewing whether the needs of Welsh-speaking young people are being met by secure establishments in England and Wales.
As part of this review, we will be taking a snaphot of the number of Welsh-speaking young people in custody across England and Wales. We will then review the current provision of Welsh language services, including education provided in Welsh, in the secure estate for children and young people. We also aim to identify the availability of Welsh-speaking custodial staff across the secure estate for children and young people.
The review will involve:
- an analysis of the level of Welsh language services currently available in the secure estate. This will be achieved via a questionnaire completed by all secure establishments across England and Wales
- a profiling exercise based on the snapshot of Welsh young people held in custody, which will identify whether they are Welsh speakers and if so whether Welsh is recorded as their language of preference. This will be achieved via the questionnaire attached to be completed by all YOTs in Wales
- visits to secure establishment to gain a deeper understanding of Welsh language provision available in secure establishments in England and Wales, and to consult with young people who are Welsh speakers
- visits to those YOTs with a high population of young people whose first language is Welsh.