Where a court remands a person charged with or convicted of an offence or F8commits him for trial orF8sends him to the Crown Court for trial or commits him there for sentence and he is not less than F7eighteen but under twenty–one years old and is not released on bail, then, if the court has been notified by the Secretary of State that a remand centre is available for the reception from the court of persons of his class or description, it shall commit him to a remand centre and, if it has not been so notified, it shall commit him to a prison.

Where a person is committed to a remand centre in pursuance of this section, the centre shall be specified in the warrant and he shall be detained there for the period for which he is remanded or until he is delivered thence in due course of law.

In this section “ court ” includes a justice; and nothing in this section affects the provisions of F3 section 128(7) of the Magisrates’ Courts Act 1980 (which provides for remands to the custody of a constable).