§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training in(a)child protection and (b)child development is given to governors of juvenile prisons; and which governors of juvenile prisons have qualifications in childcare. [172351]
§ Paul Goggins[holding answer 11 May 2004]:Appropriate Child protection training has been developed specifically for staff working with juveniles. A child protection 'train the trainer' course was rolled out across the juvenile estate in 2002, and since then all staff have had access to child protection training.
More recently, the Prison Service and the Youth Justice Board have worked together to develop and deliver appropriate training for all staff working with juveniles. The new Juvenile Awareness Staff Programme (JASP) will be mandatory for new staff, and will be made available to existing staff as part of a rolling three year programme. JASP includes child protection training as well as training in the nature of adolescence.
Data on qualifications held by Governors is not collected centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a separate system for transporting juvenile prisoners will be established. [172353]
§ Paul Goggins[holding answer 11 May 2004]:Escort services are provided by private companies under contract to the Youth Justice Board (for those sent to 192W secure training centres or local authority secure children's homes (LASCHs)) and the Prison Service (for those sent to Young Offender Institutions).
The secure training centre/LASCH escort service is exclusively for juveniles and is managed by Group 4 (Rebound) Security Services.
New transport arrangements for journeys to and from young offender institutions will come into effect with new Prison Escort Custody Service (PECS) contracts on 29 August 2004. Where cellular vehicles are used, juveniles will not be carried in the same vehicle as adult prisoners.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of self-injury and attempted suicide by juveniles have occurred in the segregation unit at Stoke Heath. [172355]
§ Paul Goggins[holding answer 11 May 2004]:There were seven reported incidents of self-harm in the Segregation Unit at Stoke Heath young offender institution involving juveniles during 2003, and one so far reported in 2004.
A new form for reporting self-harm was introduced across the prison estate in December 2002. This has improved the consistency with which self-harm incidents are reported and, by broadening the range of questions that are asked, improved the detail and quality of the information collected. Prior to 2003, data on the location in the prison where the self-harm incident occurred were not collated centrally.
Suicidal intent is not easy to establish. The reasons why people self-injure are highly complex, and it is often difficult to distinguish between acts of self-harm that were attempts at ending life, and those which occurred for other reasons. It is not possible, therefore, for the Prison Service to extrapolate from the data recording incidents of self-harm those acts that may have been attempts at suicide.
A number of intervention strategies have been introduced into prisons, young offender and juvenile establishments for people who self-harm. These include counselling, support groups, and specialised psychological interventions. While evaluation of these interventions is, at present, very limited, evidence from research in non-prison settings suggests that male and female adolescents who self-harm repeatedly may benefit from group therapy. A network of establishments has been set up to develop interventions, facilitate evaluation and share good practice. Guidance to staff on managing people who self-harm has also been circulated to establishments.