A landmark remand pilot in Greater Manchester has significantly reduced the unnecessary use of child custody, improved outcomes for some of the most vulnerable children and saved more than £3m of public money, according to research by Manchester Met.
It comes as the Government sets out plans to overhaul the youth justice system, including a commitment to reduce the use of custodial remand for children by 25% over the course of this Parliament, supported by £5 million in funding for robust community-based alternatives.
Across Greater Manchester between 2023 and 2026, 181 children were remanded to custody, spending an average of 62 days on remand, despite almost half of children in custody being held without conviction.
83% of the children were classed as being a Looked After Child, Child In Need or having a Child Protection Plan, while nearly half of the children were not in education, employment or training (NEET), and more than half had special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).
Almost two thirds of the children held in custody on remand did not receive custodial sentences following their court case.
Published in a new report, the evaluation of the Greater Manchester Alternative to Custodial Remand pilot, funded by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) and led by Manchester Met’s Centre for Crime and Youth Justice, explored whether more consistent practice, stronger partnership working and pooled funding could reduce children’s use of secure remand while awaiting trial and improve their outcomes.
Instead of being placed in a typical custodial setting, children could be remanded into local authority accommodation, including a secure, staffed residential house designed to feel more domestic, where their independence and access to support were maintained.
The evaluation, spanning April 2024 to April 2026, found custodial remand fell sharply across Greater Manchester, dropping to just one case in January 2026, while savings of over £3m were achieved through reduced custody use.
Professor Hannah Smithson, Professor of Criminology and Youth Justice at Manchester Met’s Centre for Crime and Youth Justice, said: “This groundbreaking pilot has shown the importance of effective alternatives to custodial remand for children, the majority of whom were not given custodial sentences after being held in custody on remand.
“Our evaluation comes at an important time for youth justice and directly speaks to the proposals in the Government’s new Youth Justice White Paper. It demonstrates how a regional pooled funding approach, alongside small-scale, highly supervised residential settings, can support more equitable and child-centred youth justice practice.”
The evaluation also highlighted the positive impact of dedicated education provision, strengthening pathways into learning and employment and helping prevent further justice involvement.
The pilot and its findings have already informed national policy discussions, including commitments to longer‑term funding, and increased investment in community alternatives to custody.
They were cited in a progress report by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy, contributing to a new three-year national remand funding settlement of £20m per year for local authorities across England and Wales.
