§ 35. Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, in the case, details of which have been sent to his right hon. Friend by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North, the nearest remand centre with places available was at Durham.
§ Miss BaconThe need for remand centres for girls is small compared with the need for remand homes. Each centre therefore serves a large area of England and Wales, the girls' centre at Low Newton, County Durham, being available to the Hull courts.
§ Mr. McNamaraCan the right hon. Gentleman explain why a girl suitable for a remand home should have been recommended for being sent to a remand centre? Is she aware that there is such a serious lack of places in remand homes in Hull and the East Riding that in one case those concerned with placing a 12-year-old girl travelled 4,258 miles?
§ Miss BaconThere is some confusion between remand homes and remand centres. The 16-year-old girl ought never to have been considered as being appropriate to be sent to a remand centre, which are usually for girls of 17 to 21. A girl under 17 can be sent to a remand centre only if the court deems that she is too unruly or depraved for a remand home. That was not so in this case and a mistake was made when it was suggested that she should go to a remand centre.
§ Mr. McNamaraOn a point of order. I said that it was 4,258 miles. To get the record straight, I should explain that it was 4,278.