My Lords, at Second Reading, the Minister referred to a “network” of secure colleges, of which the planned facility at Glen Parva in Leicestershire is to be the first. This so-called network would consist of precisely three establishments, each housing around 320 young offenders, very many of whom will of necessity be a long way from home and family. That is not a network as most people would understand the term.
Some of us were recently treated to an exposition of the plans for the college, kindly organised by the Minister, where we heard from the developers, Wates. The technology was attractive and smart, which is more than can be said for what passes for the thinking behind the concept. It became apparent from the answers to questions from the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, who is not now in his place, that not only did the site have severe limitations in terms of the facilities, particularly outdoor and recreational facilities, but that instead of the intended function of the site dictating its location and size, the site, which was already owned by the department, dictated the nature of the development. Its limitations in terms of size and location were simply never addressed.
The Government are pressing ahead with a scheme—to the extent of going out to tender—which is property-based rather than service-based. Given the paucity of evidence of support for the project during the consultation exercise, with the Children’s Commissioner, the Chief Inspector of Prisons and a host of organisations expressing serious concerns and objections, this is completely unacceptable. I have today received the reply to a Written Question about this process, which makes interesting reading. It refers to the Government’s invitation to,
“interested parties to develop propositions of their vision for implementing Secure Colleges”.—[Official Report, 16/7/14; col. WA 130.]
It goes on to say that a competition was launched in January, for which all of four bidders submitted tenders. The contract has now been let, all before Parliament has debated—never mind passed—the legislation. A separate competition to appoint an operator will take place, with a view to that taking effect next year.
As the series of amendments we are debating demonstrates, there is virtually no detail about cost or how the college is to be run. On the contrary, the Government make a virtue of saying that they have invited the potential contractors to say what they propose to do. The impact assessment—unusually flimsy even by the MoJ’s standards—says:
“There is … some uncertainty over the level of operating costs we would expect to achieve through a competition”—
a masterly understatement. The same applies to the estimated capital costs of £85 million. When my honourable friend Dan Jarvis MP tabled a Parliamentary Question about the latter, he was told:
“To avoid prejudicing the effectiveness of the design and build competition … the Ministry of Justice will not be able to publish a breakdown of the budget until the competition has been completed”.—[Official Report, Commons, 17/3/14; col. 438W.]
It irresistibly brings to mind the words “buying”, “pig” and “poke”. Let us be clear: the objective of providing better education for these youngsters is wholly admirable—not least in literacy and numeracy skills—and will command universal support, but there is absolutely no detail on how this is to be achieved. The Government seem to imagine the college as a kind of Eton for delinquents where inmate students will start their course in, say, the autumn term and progress through until they have completed however many terms they remain there. The reality, of course, will be different.
The average stay in youth custody is all of 79 days, as the Justice Committee observed. The youngsters, therefore, will come and go at different times and for different lengths of time. Robert Buckland MP, now promoted to Solicitor-General—an appointment well received across the political spectrum—asked a series of questions in the Public Bill Committee about the actual working of the college, the level of provision and the types of staff to be employed and their training. He pointed out that the only staff specifically mentioned are custody officers, whose duties are not defined and, strikingly:
“The words teacher, psychiatrist, social worker, and counsellor do not appear in the schedule”.—[Official Report, Commons, Criminal Justice and Courts Bill Committee, 20/3/14; col. 280.]
He asked about the child to adult ratio and to these questions, posed again in the amendments we are discussing, answer came there none.
Jeremy Wright MP—whose elevation to the position of Attorney-General in place of Dominic Grieve was greeted with rather less acclaim than that of the new Solicitor-General in the light of his aversion to the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights—could say about teachers only that,
“it is likely that an operator of a secure college will recruit a number of qualified teachers”.
He also said that,
“as with free schools it will be for education providers to determine how best the educational engagement and attainment of young people in a secure college can be raised”.—[Official Report, Commons, Criminal Justice and Courts Bill Committee, 20/3/14; cols. 291-92.]
No indication was given about health issues, including how mental health is to be treated. Of course NHS England would have the responsibility, but how will this be exercised, especially with short-stay inmates? What contractual conditions on these matters do the
Government have in mind—if any? Will these two simply be left to the education providers to determine? I recall the lines from TS Eliot’s “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock”:
“And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions”.
To venture another quotation, there is a line from “Richard III” in his speech to the troops before the Battle of Bosworth:
“Remember whom you are to cope withal”.
That is something the Government seem conspicuously to have failed to remember. The colleges will deal with damaged, vulnerable youngsters. A survey last year found that 65% of girls and 37% of boys in custody were last at school aged 14 or under, 86% had been excluded, 60% had communication difficulties, 75% had literacy difficulties and 25% had learning difficulties—a matter which the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, has raised repeatedly. All this means that they require strong educational support. More than 30% of boys and 60% of girls had been in care, 41% had a drugs problem and 19% of boys had emotional or mental health problems.
The Government’s proposal is to warehouse the whole age range—both sexes—in the juvenile equivalent of a Titan prison. How can it be right to place a small number of girls in an institution which, given their numbers, will be even more likely to be remote from their homes? How can it be right to place 12 to 15 year-olds alongside older adolescents? It cannot be intended that they would attend the same lessons, take part in the same recreational activities and receive the same psychological and medical support.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights points out that the plans do not accord with international standards governing the administration of juvenile justice which, for example, should include,
“small open facilities where children can be tended to on an individual basis and so avoid the additional negative effects of deprivation of liberty; and that institutions should be decentralised to allow for children to continue having access to their families and their communities”.
The Joint Committee went on to note that there was no equality impact assessment. What response does the Minister make to the recommendation that these should be made and provided as soon as possible, especially in relation to the impact on girls and younger children? What of the call for more information about special educational needs provision in the colleges?
The amendments in my name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, are designed to address these issues and ensure that if the policy goes forward—to which issue I will return later—there will at least be an obligation on the Government to explain not merely what they seek to achieve but precisely what will be achieved, and with what safeguards on the issues that I and others identify in these debates. Amendment 42E would add secure children’s homes to the list of places the Secretary of State may provide for youngsters sentenced to detention. Such homes are currently provided by local authorities. It would be necessary to develop a joint approach in this context. Amendment 42K would require the Secretary of State to ensure that sufficient secure home places were available. Amendments 42F
and 42G would exclude girls and children under 15 from secure colleges. Amendment 42J would require adequate specialist provision to cater for the often complex health and well-being needs of offenders in secure colleges.
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Some 40 years ago, many of us were engrossed by the Watergate scandal. Some will remember the advice tendered by the source who lifted the lid on the affair to the intrepid Washington Post reporters: “Follow the money”. I do not think it is cynical to suggest that this Committee should do likewise. The Government draw attention to the cost of secure children’s homes and secure training centres. The numbers of the former dealing with the most severely damaged children and run by local authorities are small, typically from eight to 40 places with high staffing ratios. They are obviously expensive but obviously deal with very vulnerable children. No child in a secure children’s home has died in custody in the last 14 years. Some 16 have died in other institutions.
The Youth Justice Board has now decommissioned 28 places, reducing the number to 138. The Government said they are,
“continuing to provide sufficient places in”,
secure homes,
“while seeking improvements in service and reductions in costs”.
By what process have the Government come to the conclusion that 138 is a sufficient number of places? What improvements in service have they identified as being required? What level of cost per capita and in aggregate do they consider reasonable? Just how many children now in secure homes do they envisage will transfer to secure colleges with 320 inmates and far from home? Why do they ignore the advice of the Children’s Commissioner, who suggested that for these children there should be no more than 25 in a given residential setting? What is to be the relationship between the secure college and secure children’s homes, and between the college and secure training centres, currently housing about 90 trainees each? It appears to be the Government’s intention to run those down. What is the future to be for secure training centres?
A series of other amendments deal with a range of additional issues. Amendment 44A would require parliamentary approval for the education scheme of any college before it is opened. Amendment 44C would require staff to hold relevant teaching, counselling or nursing qualifications. Amendment 45A would add to the duties of college custody officers the requirement to assess and promote the best interests of the children. The Opposition also support the amendments of the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham—Amendments 43, 44B, 45, 47 and 48—to which he will no doubt speak.
We, like most of those who responded to the consultation and gave evidence to the public committee, are deeply sceptical about this proposal. If it is to go ahead at all, it should be with the qualifications contained in the amendments and after parliamentary approval of the detail they seek. Hence the sunrise clause in Amendment 43D, requiring such approval for a modus operandi for a college covering 11 areas touched on in these amendments. A second sunrise clause in Amendment
43A would affect any further college projects and would require the piloting of a much smaller college, which could be local to its residents and deal with youngsters over the age of 15 who would be there for some meaningful time, in which their problems could be adequately addressed.
As matters stand, the current plans bear the hallmark of the Secretary of State’s penchant for eye catching and headline grabbing that is inadequately thought through and unsupported by evidence. In the absence of significant movement, we will return to these amendments on Report to secure significant changes to some very badly flawed proposals. I beg to move.