Part 2: Courts, tribunals and coroners Chapter 1: Criminal procedure Section 8: Written procedure for indicating plea and determining mode of trial: children
The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years of age, which means that children and young people aged between 10 and 17 can be prosecuted for criminal offences. The criminal court system recognises the increased vulnerability and additional requirements that children and young people have, so treats these types of defendants differently from adults in the youth court. This includes bespoke plea before venue and allocation procedures which also take into account the fact that children and young people do not share the same right as adults to elect for their case to be sent to the Crown Court for a jury trial. Therefore, children and young people also require bespoke legislation for the new written/online plea and allocation procedures to cater for their needs.
	Section 8 inserts new section 24ZA of the MCA 1980, which enables a child or young person who is charged with an indictable offence that would require an allocation decision to be provided with the choice to indicate a plea in writing (including online), without the need for a youth court hearing.
	New section 24ZA(1) specifies that this new section applies to a defendant who is a child or young person when they were charged with an offence other than one falling within section 51A(12) of the CDA 1998, and have not since attained the age of 18 years, where a magistrates’ court (including a youth court) would have to determine whether to send the case to the Crown Court for trial.
	New section 24ZA(2) provides that the CrimPRs may make provisions about circumstances in which the written procedure under new section 24ZA of the MCA 1980 cannot be used for a case.
	New section 24ZA(3) and (4) state that a youth court must provide a child or young person with certain information in order to proceed with the new written/online plea procedure, including explanations as to the procedure, choices and effects of those choices, and any other information specified by the CrimPRs.
	Where a child or young person provides a written/online indication of a guilty plea, new section 24ZA(5) directs the court to proceed to try the defendant under section 9 of the MCA 1980 when they appear at court for a hearing. If a child or young person appears at a summary trial in accordance with new section 24ZA(5) and pleads not guilty, new section 24ZA(6) states that the trial and the indicated plea are void and the youth court must proceed as if the hearing was instead for the purpose of section 24A of the MCA 1980 (child or young person’s indication of plea at court) and the child or young person had indicated a plea of not-guilty.
	Where a child or young person provides a written/online indication of a not-guilty plea, new section 24ZA(7) directs the youth court to provide the prosecutor and the child or young person with an opportunity to make any representations in writing about whether the court should send the case to the Crown Court for trial before the court makes its decision.
	Where a child or young person fails to give a written indication of plea, new section 24ZA(8) of the MCA 1980 directs the youth court to proceed with a normal court hearing in accordance with section 24A of the MCA 1980.
	New section 24ZA(9) of the MCA 1980 ensures that any indication of plea provided by a child or young person in writing/online is treated as an indication only and thus, is not binding until they make a subsequent appearance at a court hearing to confirm or change their indicated plea.
	New section 24ZA(10) of the MCA 1980 provides that the new written/online plea procedure applies to prosecutions initiated in various different ways, including children and young persons who have been summonsed, have received a written charge and requisition, or have been charged and bailed to court from a police station.
	New section 24ZA(11) of the MCA 1980 defines the term "written indication of plea" used in new section 24ZA, new section 24ZB, amended section 24A, and new section 24BA of the MCA 1980, and when a child or young person is considered to have failed to provide a written/online indication of plea.
	New section 24ZA(12) of the MCA 1980 provides additional information about the definition of the term "relevant determination" used in new section 24ZA and new section 24ZB of the MCA 1980, which means the determination referred to in new section 24ZA(1)(c) of the MCA 1980 with regards to whether to send the case to the Crown Court for trial.
	Section 8 also inserts new section 24ZB of the MCA 1980 which states how a court should proceed if a child or young person attains the age of 18 years or wishes to withdraw an indication of written/online plea.
	New section 24ZB(1) of the MCA 1980 specifies that new section 24ZB of the MCA 1980 applies where the court has provided a child or young person with the relevant information in compliance with new section 24ZA(3) of the MCA 1980.
	New section 24ZB(2) of the MCA 1980 specifies that if the child or young person attains the age of 18 years before providing, or failing to provide, an indication of plea in writing/online, the procedure under new section 24ZA of the MCA 1980 will cease to have effect and the court must instead proceed in accordance with the new adult written/online plea procedure under new section 17ZA of the MCA 1980.
	New sections 24ZB(3) and (4) of the MCA 1980 specify that if a child or young person attains the age of 18 years after they have provided a written/online indication of plea, but before a summary trial begins or a decision is made as to whether to send the case to the Crown Court for trial, the court must consider whether to use its powers under section 29 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 ("the CYPA 1963") to proceed and deal with the case in a way in which it could have if the child or young person had not attained that age. Where the court does not exercise its powers under section 29 of the CYPA 1963, new section 24ZA(5) or (7) of the MCA 1980 will cease to apply and the court will instead proceed as if the written/online indication of plea had been provided via the written/online plea procedure for adults under new section 17ZA of the MCA 1980.
	New section 24ZB(5) and (6) of the MCA 1980 specifies that if a child or young person attains the age of 18 years having failed to provide a written/online indication of plea, but before a hearing takes place at court for the purposes of receiving the child or young person’s plea under section 24A of the MCA 1980, the court must proceed as if the child or young person had failed to provide a written/online indication of plea via the written/online plea procedure for adults under new section 17ZA of the MCA 1980.
	New section 24ZB(7) and (8) of the MCA 1980 direct the court to cease the new online/written procedures and proceed with a normal court hearing to receive an indication of plea in accordance with section 24A of the MCA 1980 where a child or young person notifies the court that they wish to withdraw a prior indication of written/online plea: before the start of a summary trial under section 9 of the MCA 1980; before the plea before venue procedure under section 24A(2) of the MCA 1980; or before they are sent to the Crown Court for trial. This is so long as the written/online indication of plea is not at that time being treated as if it had been given via the adult procedure under new section 17ZA of the MCA 1980.
	New section 24ZB(8) also provides that where a child or young person attains the age of 18 years having withdrawn a prior written/online indication of plea before a hearing for the purpose of section 24A(2) of the MCA 1980, the court may (subject to any exercise of its powers under section 29 of the CYPA 1963) decide to proceed as if the child or young person had provided and withdrawn their written/online plea under the written/online procedure for adults under section 17ZA of the MCA 1980.