The Children (Secure Accommodation) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 amend the regulations on secure accommodation for children that were made in 2015. Secure accommodation forms a small but important part of residential provision for looked-after children. Placements by local authorities are only used where a child is likely to abscond from any other type of placement and is a significant risk of harm to themselves or to others. In each case, the local authority must apply to the court for a secure accommodation order. Now, this should only be done where absolutely necessary and where other alternatives have been considered.

The amendments brought forward today seek to achieve two things. Firstly, there are amendments consequential upon a change to section 25 of the Children Act 1989, which allows local authorities in England and Wales to place children in secure accommodation in Scotland. Now, I should stress that our policy remains that children who need a secure placement should, wherever possible and appropriate, be accommodated within Wales. However, due to the specialist nature of this provision and its short-term nature, placements of Welsh children in England are fairly common, and occasionally, placements are made in Scotland. Although these placements from Wales to Scotland are exceptional, we would still wish this option to be open to Welsh authorities. We consulted on this in the autumn and most responses, including that from the Children's Commissioner for Wales, were supportive of this provision, provided that it was used on an exceptional basis only. 

Secondly, Dirprwy Lywydd, we are making some technical amendments to the 2015 regulations that are aimed principally at ensuring that there is clarity about the way the regulations operate for cross-border placements. These are desirable to guarantee the cross-border application of the regulations, especially in respect of placements from Wales to England and vice versa. In effect, they ensure that the Welsh and the English regulations dovetail together seamlessly and work in the very best interests of children.

I therefore commend these regulations to Members.