The prime minister's wife, Cherie Booth, has called for fewer children to be jailed.

In a speech to the British Institute of Human Rights, she said: "There are probably always going to be a few children where the solution will have to be custody. But clearly we need to find better solutions for the majority of young offenders."

Forum Response: Barnardo's

Pam Hibbert, principal policy officer at Barnardo's, told ePolitix.com: "Barnardo's would whole-heartedly agree with Cherie Booth that prison is not the solution to problems of damaged and troublesome children and the lack of concern for the human rights of children in the criminal justice system should be addressed.

"Failures in our child welfare and protection systems that result in the death of a child become the subject of public outcry and official scrutiny, for example the current Victoria Climbie inquiry.

"I would argue that it is indefensible that failures in the same systems that result in children being imprisoned are not the subject of similar concern.

"There are some children whose offending behaviour renders them a serious risk to the public or themselves and who therefore need to be detained. However, we would argue that there is overwhelming evidence that the majority of children imprisoned in the UK are more in need of protection than punishment.

"Research shows that significant numbers of young prisoners have suffered previous physical, sexual or emotional abuse, over half have been in care, up to 80 per cent have a reading age of 11 or less and some researchers argue that as many as 8 out of 10 have mental health problems.

"This history of abuse, neglect, exclusion and lack of opportunity is then often compounded by the child's experiences in prison. Bullying can be a major problem in Young Offender Institutions, some surveys estimate that between 50 to 75 per cent of inmates experience bullying and up to 50 per cent admit to having bullied other inmates. Over 20 children under 18 have committed suicide while in prison and incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts are numerous.

"The UK government was criticised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in October last year for its increasingly punitive approach to dealing with youth crime and children in the criminal justice system. The ever increasing use of imprisonment is expensive, ineffective (over 80 per cent will re offend within 2 years of release), and fails to protect either children or communities."

Forum Response: National Youth Agency

Hilary Spiers, director communications at the National Youth Agency, told ePolitix.com: "The NYA fully supports Cherie Booth's view, as reported in today's Times, that jailing young offenders is generally not appropriate. Effective educational and prevention measures, combined with community punishments where necessary, work far more effectively in reducing young people's offending.

"Youth services play an important role in the personal and social development of young people. They are involved in a wide range of crime prevention and reduction programmes across the country. Youth work works to change the attitudes, behaviour and motivation of young people, thus reducing the likelihood of criminal activity.

"The creation of a Children's Commissioner as part of a Human Rights Commission, as suggested by Ms Booth, would underpin a child-centred approach to youth justice. Crude punishment often generates anti-social capital; by contrast, Ms Booth's approach will generate the social capital that the government seeks and that the country needs."

Forum Response: The Children's Society

Sharon Moore, The Children's Society's principal policy and practice manager, told ePolitix.com: "The Children's Society welcomes the call by Cherie Booth QC yesterday for fewer children to be jailed in this country.

"Children in the criminal justice system should be viewed as children in need. Recent changes in legislation have given courts more powers to lock up more children at a younger age for less serious offences.

"Our research shows that locking up chidden is expensive, damaging and does not offer long term benefits for children or victims of crime. Children who are thrown into prison come out more alienated and have difficulties being reintegrated into their communities.

"The prison service is often seen as a dumping ground for some of the most vulnerable children in our society. Yet, it does not have the resources to cope with the multiple needs of these children.

"It's time to stop looking for the quick fix and for the government to undertake a review of our system of justice for children."