§ Mr. Wheelerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements have been made for senior attendance centres; where these are located; how many places they provide; and what arrangements exist for London.
§ Mr. MayhewIn accordance with the policy indicated in the White Paper on Young Offenders, the Government are extending the provision of attendance centres for young men aged 17 and under 21. In 1979 there were only two. Now, outside London, there are senior attendance centres at Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leicester, Runcorn, Knowsley, Sheffield, Birmingham, Fareham, Leeds and Cardiff. So far as London is concerned, the senior attendance centre at Greenwich is to be closed later this year and, in readiness, a new centre opened in East London in April. More centres are being planned: two—at Bristol and Middlesbrough—are due to open next month.
186WThere is no fixed number of places at these centres, because capacity at them can generally be varied as necessary by, for example, increasing the frequency of sessions or hiring additional accommodation. At the end of March, some 410 offenders were subject to orders at the nine senior centres then open.