§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will carry out an inquiry into the security of local authority accommodation for children in care, including the escape of a 14-year-old Bolton boy from Thornbury house in Oxfordshire; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. BowisResponsibility for all aspects of management of secure accommodation rests with the appropriate local authority. Last year the Department issued "Guidance on Permissible Forms of Control in Children's Residential Care", copies of which are available in the Library, about control and restraint in children's residential care. The Department will also be issuing more general guidance about the provision of secure accommodation. My officials are discussing with the relevant social services departments the circumstances and issues surrounding the particular incident to which my hon. Friend refers.