The rights of young people in care Several of the young people who spoke to the Ombudsman and his team during the visits stated that they found the restrictions very intrusive. Conversely, there is no doubt that the institutions may have good disciplinary, educational or safety reasons for imposing such restrictions. Legislation The monitoring visits caused the Ombudsman to consider the legality of introducing such restrictions in relation to young people living at residences. There is no simple answer to the question as it is not explicitly addressed anywhere in the legislation. The fact that it is impossible to get a definite answer as to whether it is legal to introduce such restrictions is in itself a problem. It implies a risk that young people at different residences are treated inconsistently and arbitrarily. The Ombudsman therefore requested a meeting with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration. At the meeting, which was held on 23 October 2012, there was agreement that there was a lack of clear rules in this area. It was no coincidence that the Ombudsman became aware in 2011 and 2012 of the lack of clear rules concerning various measures used against young people in care: The Ombudsman had decided in advance that in 2011 and 2012 his monitoring visits were to focus among other things on residences for children and young people, as this would allow him to clarify whether there were any general issues at this particular kind of institution. At the same time, there was clearly no point in the Ombudsman raising the issue of the legality of such restrictions with the individual institutions. An issue of this nature must as far as possible be resolved in collaboration with the ministry responsible for the area, in this case the Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration. In late spring 2013, the Government set up a committee to describe the challenges in connection with the use of compulsion in relation to children and young people living at hostels, in residences and with foster families. The committee is also to make recommendations for new rules if relevant. 69