By Penelope Gibbs, Prison Reform Trust

He who pays the piper calls the tune. Or at least has greater influence over the tune. If local authorities paid for child custody, they would surely gain more control over where children are placed and the quality of regimes. And have a greater incentive to stop children being imprisoned. The government's new Youth Crime Action Plan has flirted with the idea of delegating the custody budget but not championed it. It proposes making the costs of custody more visible to inform debate "on whether, in the long term, local authorities should be responsible for the placement and funding of custodial placements".

Read the complete post at http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/social-care-experts-blog/2008/07/youth-action-plan-should-have.html