§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What safeguards exist when a child is transferred from an open to a closed training school in Northern Ireland; and whether such safeguards comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Dubs)A training school order provides authority for the detention in custody in secure accommodation of a child who has been found guilty of serious or persistent offending and can be made only by a court. Nevertheless it is policy to use open accommodation if practicable, but a child will be placed in, or returned to, secure accommodation if the seriousness or nature of his offending, or absconding or other behaviour while in open72WA accommodation, indicates that he may provide a risk to himself or others. This is in accord with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
To what extent "appropriate adults" are available to all children taken into custody in Northern Ireland.
§ Lord DubsCustody officers are required to inform an appropriate adult when anyone who is, or appears to be, under the age of 17 is taken into custody. There are no statistics to indicate to what extent appropriate adults are available when called upon.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give an assurance that the best interests of the child will be the primary consideration when 17 year-old children are brought before the Youth Courts in Northern Ireland.
§ Lord DubsThe Government are currently considering the comments received as a result of consultation on the draft Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order, and a decision has yet to be taken as to whether 17 year-olds will be included within the juvenile justice system. In any case Article 4 of the draft order sets out the guiding principles to be observed in dealing with children in criminal proceedings. They are that every court shall have regard to the welfare of any child brought before it and that any delay in dealing with cases is likely to be prejudicial to the child's welfare. However, these principles must be set within the context of the need to protect the public from criminal behaviour.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether nearly one-third of young people in training schools in Northern Ireland in recent years have suffered from a physical or learning disability; and what plans they have for improving early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
§ Lord DubsBefore the commencement of the Children (NI) Order children were sent to the training schools for reason of care, protection and control, non-attendance at school, or for offending. Since 4 November 1996, training schools deal solely with offenders. While each child is assessed on entry, information about the proportion who have a physical or learning disability is not available.