In the Guardian today:

Children seeing extreme violence while held needlessly in jail, says England and Wales watchdog Prisons inspectorate finds almost 100 children each year are remanded to custody only to be bailed or moved.

One child told inspectors he had watched through his window as another child was stabbed and had “found that scary”. Most were in custody for the first time, few were given clear information about why they were being held, and some said they were confused and frightened.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/27/children-violence-remand-jail-england-wales-watchdog

Can this happen in Scotland? The media operating in Scotland will be busy bottom-feeding for examples but will find none, because:

As of late August/September 2024, children under 18 are no longer held in Scottish Prison Service (SPS) custody, including on remand. They are placed in secure care/accommodation instead of YOIs like Polmont.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-redress-scheme-2025-combined-annual-report/pages/27/

Official reports (e.g., Scotland’s Redress Scheme 2025 and prison population stats) confirm no under-18s in SPS custody.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2025/9780111063781/pdfs/sdsiod_9780111063781_en_001.pdf

Did you pick that up from BBC Scotland? Me neither.

Who pushed it through?

It was a Scottish Government bill, introduced on 13 December 2022.

Natalie Don [above] handled the parliamentary stages, including Stage 2 and Stage 3 debates. She moved the final motion for the bill to pass at Stage 3 on 25 April 2024. scottishparliament.tv

She has been the primary government voice on the Act’s implementation, including statements on removing under-18s from Young Offenders Institutions (effective late August 2024), secure care placements, and broader youth justice reforms aligned with The Promise. bbc.com

Did you pick that up from BBC Scotland? Me neither.