Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a child has made a complaints appeal to a monitor in (a) Hassockfield, (b) Medway, (c) Oakhill and (d) Rainsbrook secure training centre since each centre opened; and how many such appeals were upheld by the monitor.

Andrew Selous

We treat the allegations of abuse directed towards young people at the Medway Secure Training Centre (STC), run by G4S, with utmost seriousness. An independent improvement board has been put in place, to provide increased oversight, scrutiny and challenge of managerial arrangements, in particular in relation to the safeguarding of young people.

The following table provided by the YJB shows the total number of complaints made by young people in Secure Training Centres, for each year between 2010 and 2015.

*Hassokfield STC shows zero complaints in 2015, this is due to its closure on 9 January 2015.

* The figures for complaints are the number of grievances or criticisms made by young people placed to the establishment by the YJB on criminal matters that are formally reported to the provider using their recorded documentation (i.e. complaint forms) in the calendar month. The figures shown are not the same as the number of young people making complaints as one young person could make more than one complaint.

The monitor reviews all complaints and their outcomes, and will intervene if a complaint is not being dealt with as it should be. If a child is not happy with the outcome of a complaint, they can appeal to the Monitor. Information on the number of appeals is not held centrally.