§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of children who are currently being held in Lisnevin training school, by(a) age, (b) sex, (c) ethnic origin and (d) legislation under which they are being held; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir John WheelerThe number of children detained in Lisnevin training school on Friday 24 June 1994 is as follows:
Age Special unit Remand unit PACE orders Total 13 1 nil nil 1 14 nil 3 nil 3 15 3 11 nil 14 16 4 7 nil 11 17 1 2 nil 3 18 nil nil nil nil Total 9 23 nil 32 Note:
All children detained in the School on 24 June 1994 are (a) male; (b) white; and (c) detained under the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of children who were received into Lisnevin training school, by(a) age, (b) sex, (c) ethnic origin and (d) legislation under which they were held, for each year since 1985; and if he will make a statement.
695W
§ Sir John WheelerThe number of children received into Lisnevin training school in the(a) special unit; (b) remand unit; and (c) PACE remand categories are given in the tables.
Special Unit Year Age Total 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1985 — — 1 2 8 5 2 — 18 1986 — — 1 2 4 2 — 1 10 1987 — — 1 1 4 2 1 — 9 1988 — — 2 4 3 2 — — 11 1989 — — 1 2 7 1 2 — 13 1990 — — — 3 6 — — — 9 1991 — — 2 4 5 1 — — 12 1992 — — — 4 3 3 — — 10 1993 — — 2 1 3 1 — — 7 Total — — 10 23 43 17 5 99 Grand Total 99 Note: All children included in this table are (a) male, (b) while and (c) detained under the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968.
Remand Unit Year Age Total 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1985 — — 1 21 38 48 16 — 124 1986 — — 10 30 60 62 5 — 167 1987 — 5 12 29 50 67 7 — 170 1988 — 2 10 22 34 62 — — 130 1989 — 2 5 21 42 88 4 — 162 1990 — — 4 19 40 66 4 — 133 1991 — — 7 21 47 75 14 — 164 1992 — 4 12 27 35 82 14 — 174 1993 1 5 8 35 62 92 4 1 208 Total 1 18 69 225 408 642 68 1 1,432 Grand Total 1,432 Note: All children included in this table are (a) male, (b) white and (c) detained under the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968.
PACE Remands Year Total 1990 69 1991 31 1992 61 1993 96 Total 257
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the occupancy rate of Lisnevin training school(a) as a total and (b) broken down by age for each month since January 1990; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir John WheelerLisnevin training school is registered to accommodate up to 40 children—15 special unit places and 25 remand unit places.
The average occupancy figure for each month since January 1990 is shown in the table.
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1990 1991 1992 1993 January 28 20 21 22 February 30 25 25 31 March 30 26 28 34 April 28 29 34 37 May 28 26 38 36
1990 1991 1992 1993 June 27 25 40 31 July 20 24 37 25 August 17 25 28 21 September 20 28 28 25 October 24 26 32 23 November 18 28 28 19 December 15 23 23 25 Note: Breakdown by age could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current re-offending rate for children leaving Lisnevin training school; if he will place a copy of research into this matter in the Library; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir John WheelerResearch into reconviction rates for those young persons who had been at Lisnevin was commissioned by the Northern Ireland Office in 1990. The draft report was submitted in October 1993. It contains information which would suggest that the average reconviction rates for those leaving the special unit at Lisnevin after one year is 37 per cent. which rises to 85 per cent. after three years. The latter figure should not be attributed to the effects of the secure environment because the young person has long since returned to the crimogenic environment from whence he originally came. The 697W researcher is presently working on a final version of the report, a copy of which, when it is published, will be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the riot which occurred in Lisnevin training school over Easter 1994, with particular reference to(a) how the incident started, (b) how long it lasted, (c) how many children were involved, (d) how many children were hurt in the riot and (e) how much damage was caused by the riot.
§ Sir John WheelerThere was no riot, but an incident did occur at 7.30 pm on 5 April when young men, evacuated to the dining room following the activation of the fire alarm, took advantage of the situation and caused damage estimated at £29,000 to that area. There were 32 young men in the establishment at that time. Control was restored at approx 10.15 pm. Two young men received hospital treatment as a result of injuries received during the disturbance.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement regarding the current inquiry into the riot at Lisnevin training school, the inquiry's terms of reference, the inquiry team's members, the progress of the report to date and the expected completion and publication dates for the inquiry report; and if he will place a copy of the inquiry report in the Library when it is available.
§ Sir John WheelerI requested an investigation into the unrest at Lisnevin on 5 April 1994. Its terms of reference were
To examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the unrest at Lisnevin over the Easter period in April 1994 and report to the Minister lessons to be learnt".Membership was drawn from the criminal justice services division of the Northern Ireland Office, the social services inspectorate of the Department of Health and Social Services and the Lisnevin management board.
The report of the investigation, which is now complete, will be with me on 1 July 1994. The investigation, as is normal in such circumstances, is internal. A report therefore will not be placed in the Library.