§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional secure places he intends to provide(a) for 15 and 16-year-olds on remand in fulfilment of his predecessors promise in February 1991, (b) for 15 and 16-year-olds on remand in addition to (a), (c) for 15 and 16-year-olds sent to secure accommodation by a court following conviction, (d) for 10 to 14-year-olds on remand, (e) for 10 to 14-year-olds following conviction other than those sentenced to a secure training order and (f) for 12 to 14-year-olds made subject to a secure training order.
§ Mr. MacleanThe provision of local authority secure accommodation is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. A programme is currently under way to create an additional 60 to 65 places in local authority secure units. This represents the number of new places estimated to be necessary to end the remands of 15 and 16-year-old boys to Prison Service establishments. The estimate is being kept under review.
Courts have no powers to send 15 or 16-year-old juveniles directly to local authority secure accommodation on conviction—although, if the appropriate criteria are met, they may send boys in this age group directly to young offender institutions run by the Prison Service, for whom no additional accommodation is presently required. Similarly, they have no powers to direct the removal of 10 to 14-year-olds to secure accommodation either on remand or following conviction.
220WThe intention is that places in which the custodial element of the proposed secure training order for 12 to 14-year-olds should be served should be provided by agreements with suitable public, voluntary or private organisations. No final decision has been taken on the number of such places to be provided.