§ Mr. MealeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many secure places there are in community homes and youth treatment centres; how many young people they currently contain; and how many of these young people are(a) on remand and (b) under sentence.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe number of places available in approved local authority secure units in England on 31 March 1990 was 288. There were 58 secure places in youth treatment centres on that date.
Such accommodation is available for children in care generally, some of whom will be juvenile offenders or alleged offenders. Young people who have been convicted of grave crimes, and sentenced to be detained under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, may also be placed in such accommodation.
Details of placements in local authority secure units are collected centrally only on an annual basis, although these do not provide full information in the form requested. The latest information available of the legal status of children in approved secure units is given in "Children Accommodated in Secure Units During the Year Ending 31 March 1988, England". Copies are available in the Library. On 31 March 1988, 228 children were accommodated in local authority secure units and 56 in security in youth treatment centres.