Prisons: Secure Colleges

Lord Ramsbotham Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2015 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Ramsbotham]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contracts have been let for the proposed secure college.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Faulks) (Con)]

My Lords, contracts for the construction and operation of the secure college pathfinder have not been signed. We are now considering the next steps.

[Lord Ramsbotham (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply, and I am very glad to note that there is a pause. What the troubled young people concerned need more than anything else is long-term contact with a responsible adult. This is being denied to them, and becomes less likely the larger the establishment. This need has been recognised by both the Department of Health, in particular its children and young people’s mental health and well-being taskforce, and by the Department for Education, which has legislated for local home authorities to be responsible for the delivery of health and social care and education plans for those with learning difficulties. Could the Minister please encourage his Secretary of State to take advantage of the Chancellor’s budget cuts, ditch this whole proposal and listen to the advice which is already being acted on by other ministries?

[Lord Faulks]

As the noble Lord and the House will know, there is a new Secretary of State. He is looking at the whole question of the custodial estate, in particular the youth custodial estate. He will of course consider all the factors which featured in the debate about secure colleges. At this stage, I can say that a considerable focus of his attention will be on education, which lies at the heart of secure colleges. It is very important that these young men—and they are mostly young men—have proper access to good education.