I will certainly write to the noble Lord on that matter.

The legal framework governing the authorisation and the use of the juvenile CHIS, when taken as a whole, is clearly capable of being exercised in a way which is consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The 2000 order, the supporting guidance provided in the CHIS code of practice and the internal guidance applied by public authorities seeking to use juvenile CHISs, all ensure that the welfare of any juvenile being considered for deployment as a CHIS is the paramount consideration.

Each part of the legislative framework is designed to ensure that the authorisation of a CHIS under the age of 18 is subject to enhanced safeguards, reflecting the need to consider the welfare of the child. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Juveniles) Order 2000 requires enhanced risk assessments to accompany any decision to use a juvenile CHIS, which are updated to reflect developments during the course of the deployment. They take into account the physical and psychological welfare of that young person, and are also updated after the deployment if contact is made.

The police will also have regard to their broader safeguarding responsibilities when making these decisions, which was the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy. Indeed, the National Strategy for the Policing of Children and Young People, endorsed and published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in 2015, says:

“It is crucial that in all encounters with the police those below the age of 18 should be treated as children first. All officers must have regard to their safety, welfare and wellbeing”,

as required under Sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

As I said, internal police guidance on deploying juvenile CHISs contains detail on how to safeguard and promote their well-being, including how to assess their maturity and capacity to give informed consent, a requirement to ensure that the handlers are properly trained to deal with young people and requirements to consider all aspects of safeguarding the young person. This includes giving particular care to planning for the safety of the young person and maintaining that level of safety throughout the duration of the deployment.

The use of juveniles as CHISs, while not commonplace, is not a new development. The 2000 order and various iterations of the codes of practice have governed the use of juvenile CHISs for almost two decades. However, insufficient regard has been given to the importance of the independent oversight that commissioners have previously provided and now provide, ensuring the appropriate and lawful use of juvenile CHISs by the relevant public authorities. Such oversight includes inspecting public authorities, with the inspectors considering the detail of each case involving juveniles as CHISs.

In particular, I am sure that I am not alone in welcoming the undertaking given by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Lord Justice Fulford, to report on the issue, which I am sure will be extremely valuable. He has been able share some preliminary information, which I am sure noble Lords will be interested to hear. Twenty-eight returns covering a total of 43 forces in the period January 2015 to October 2018 show that 14 juveniles have been authorised as CHISs in the UK. The vast majority were aged 17 at the time of their authorisation and no juvenile has been authorised below the age of 15. I hope that that gives noble Lords some comfort. The commissioner has noted that the use of the juvenile CHIS is not taken lightly. In the majority of instances, the types of criminality on which they have provided information in the past three years are markedly serious and include murder, gang violence, high-level drug supply and the possession or use of offensive weapons.

The commissioner also considers that senior authorising officers take their responsibilities in this context very seriously and that the statistical returns provide considerable confidence that, against a backdrop of only occasional use of juveniles as CHISs, a significant number of requests are refused. He has found that the young person is either already voluntarily participating in the relevant criminality or has been compelled to be involved. He gives by way of example members of violent gangs or victims of child sexual abuse who are trying to escape and wish to help others similarly placed to get away from their abusers. He observes that the police have responsibilities under the government initiative, Every Child Matters, and will be expected to take into account the safeguarding principles that should underpin all decision-making in relation to authorisation of a juvenile as a CHIS.

Finally, the commissioner has also confirmed the rigorous nature of the oversight provided—although I am sure that there is no doubt about that. He notes that, if his inspectors have material concerns about an authorisation, these will be raised, discussed and set out in the inspection report. He states that there have been no concerns of relevance during the period from 2015. He notes that it would appear, therefore, that the safeguards have been effective, with the result that no case has been brought to his attention in which a juvenile CHIS has been inappropriately used, to their detriment.

I turn to the various questions that noble Lords have raised. The noble Lord, Lord Paddick, referred to the legal action being brought. We have received and responded to a pre-action letter from the children’s charity, Just for Kids Law, relating to the use of the juvenile CHIS. Noble Lords will understand that it would not be appropriate to comment at this stage.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, talked about consultation with organisations involved in safeguarding. There is no requirement to consult publicly on changes to the 2000 order, but we consulted broadly with the operational community, and the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office was also involved in these discussions. All those who use juvenile CHISs have a duty of care to the CHIS. The duty is to safeguard children and young people, and this was taken into account as part of the consultation.