Clause 27
Offender Management Bill
11:30 am
Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Bradford South, Labour)
I am grateful to the hon. and learned Gentleman for the way in which he moved the amendment. He raised issues that clearly need to be resolved. I want the decency agenda to be further developed from its good beginnings in recent years.
The clause clarifies the statutory position in relation to the journey between relevant premises, such as courts, police stations, hospitals and custodial establishments, that is made by young people who have been sentenced or remanded in custody. The amendment would place a statutory duty on the Secretary of State. Although I understand the motivation for it, I believe that it is unnecessary, both legally and practically.
Under the Children Act 2004, there is a legal obligation on the governors of secure training centres to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their custody. In addition, paragraph 3 of schedule 1 to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 places an express duty on custody officers carrying out escort functions to attend to the well-being of persons in their care, which includes their transportation between premises, for example between court and youth detention accommodation. The amendment would not go as far as the provisions to which I have just referred.
The amendment is also unnecessary from a practical point of view. The Youth Justice Board has been seeking to improve escort arrangements for children and young people and has invested about £5 million every year to make separate arrangements for young people travelling to and from young offender institutions. The board also has a separate contracting arrangement for children and young people who are sentenced or remanded to secure training centres or secure children’s homes, which accommodate the youngest, most vulnerable group.
While I was listening to the hon. and learned Gentleman, I took the opportunity to go through the contracts for escort arrangements. I will check with the officials to see whether they can be made available to the Committee. That will depend on commercial confidentiality. The contracts set out what should happen in relation to comfort stops, which I accept might not have happened on occasion. I would like to examine the issues that the hon. and learned Gentleman has raised.