The opening of the first secure school, intended to improve the
life chances of children in custody, has been delayed by
approximately three years, according to the National Audit Office
(NAO).
Most children in custody in
England and Wales are placed in a young offender institution
(YOI). Those who are too vulnerable are placed in either a secure
children's home, or a secure training centre (STC).1
The 2016 government-commissioned Review of the Youth Justice
System in England and Wales recommended that the Ministry of
Justice should address longstanding concerns about the welfare of
children in custody by opening secure schools. The Ministry
accepted this recommendation and committed to delivering two
secure schools.
The Ministry and Her Majesty's
Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) expect the number of
children in custody to more than double by September 2024, after
a long-term decline. The forecast is based on the collective
impact of recruiting 23,000 additional police officers, reversing
COVID-19 court backlogs, and tougher sentencing following the
passing of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Reform
Bill.
Certain groups of children are
increasingly over-represented in custody. In the year ending
March 2021, on average 53% of children in custody were from
ethnic minority groups, compared to 32% in the year ending March
2011. The proportion of black children in custody increased from
18% to 29% during the same period. The small number of girls in
custody are more likely to have experienced sexual and physical
victimisation, and relationship difficulties.
Government initially contracted
out STC provision and considers that management failed to meet
good standards. Inspectors have persistently raised concerns over
the welfare, safety, and outcomes for children in England's three
STCs, rating them as ‘requiring improvement to be good' or
‘inadequate' in every year since 2017. HMPPS terminated its
contract with the private sector contractor, MTC, for the
management of Rainsbrook STC in December 2021. It is also
considering how the terms of its contract with G4S Care and
Justice Services UK Limited, the private sector contractor
managing Oakhill STC, can be used to achieve improvement. Medway
STC was under the management of HMPPS when it was closed in
2020.
STC failures have resulted in
children being moved to areas of the youth custodial estate that
had previously been judged as less suitable for their needs. When
Medway STC closed, around one-third of the 35 children were moved
to a YOI, around a quarter were moved to another STC, and a small
minority transferred to the adult estate. When Rainsbrook STC
closed, around a third of the 33 children were transferred to a
YOI, and a very small minority were transferred to a secure
children's home, or Oakhill STC.
The first secure school was
originally due to open at the Medway STC site in autumn 2020 but
has been delayed until November 2023. Progress has been slower
than hoped because of assumptions made about timescales at the
start of the project, changes HMPPS needed to make to meet
Ofsted's advice on the standards for secure children's homes
(SCH) registration, and the time it took to establish the basis
on which a charity could run a secure school. The cost estimate
for converting the Medway STC site to a secure school rose from
£4.9 million to £36.5 million, due mainly to significant design
revisions after due diligence. Due to wider financial
constraints, HMPPS has not started work on the second secure
school.
The Ministry and HMPPS expect
secure schools to accommodate any children regardless of level of
needed, but the provider will ultimately decide which children it
accepts. In July 2019, the Ministry appointed the Oasis
Charitable Trust (Oasis) to establish a Secure Academy Trust to
run the first secure school which is expected to provide 49
places. Under these arrangements, managers of the Secure Academy
Trust, like SCH managers, will be able to reject the placement of
children if it considers that it cannot meet their needs while
also meeting the needs of other children. HMPPS is considering
how its funding agreement with Oasis can be used to ensure that
there is a placement available for every child.
The Ministry and HMPPS
recognise that significant work is required to improve the youth
custodial estate if it is to meet the increased demand for places
and children's needs. As at January 2022, the Ministry's
proposals included: opening the first secure school and securing
funding for the second; improving existing YOI and STC provision;
and possibly re-opening Rainsbrook STC.
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ENDS
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Notes for
Editors
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The Ministry is accountable
to Parliament for the oversight of the youth justice system in
England and Wales and is responsible for commissioning youth
custody services, including setting standards and provisions
for managing poor performance. The Youth Custody Service (YCS)
has been, since 2019, also responsible for commissioning youth
custody services alongside its management of the youth estate.
The YCS is part of Her Majesty's Prison & Probation Service
(HMPPS), an executive agency of the Ministry. Day-to-day
responsibility for the secure school programme and for the
management of STCs sits within HMPPS.
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Medway STC was closed in
March 2020, Rainsbrook STC was closed in December 2021 and as
at April 2022, Oakhill STC is under an improvement plan
following a critical inspection.
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In England and Wales,
children from the age of 10 can be held criminally responsible
for their actions.
