§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 23 November 1993,Official Report, column 29, on what grounds his Department considers that holding girls of 16 and 17 years with adult women prisoners is the best option for holding them, in their own interests.
§ Mr. Peter LloydTwenty girls under 18 years old are held with other female young offenders in establishments which also hold adult women. These arrangements allow them the freedom and choice of activities available in a larger community that would not otherwise be possible. Holding them separately would involve either a national unit for their detention, and consequent dislocation from their home area and a weakening of family ties, or keeping them in very small isolated units. Neither option would serve their best interests.