§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has for expanding(a) local authority secure units, (b) young offenders institutions and (c) secure training centres; and if he will make a statement. [85198]
§ Hilary BennThe number of places in Local Authority Secure Units (LASUs) available to the Youth Justice Board (YJB) was increased by 60 during 2002–03. The Board has no plans to increase the number of LASU places further.
The Prison Service has made available a further 164 places to the YJB for juveniles during 2002–03. No decisions have been made whether or not to seek to continue this requirement during 2003–04, but the YJB has no plans to expand further the number of juvenile Young Offender Institution places.
Work on providing an additional 64 beds at Rainsbrook and Medway Secure Training Centres (STCS) has recently been completed. The number of places in STCs has therefore increased during 2002–03 from 130 to 194. The YJB is preparing a contract for the development of a new 80-bed Secure Training Centre at Milton Keynes which it hopes may be available in 2004–05. The Board's current plans are that those additional 80 places will substitute for non-STC places. No firm decisions have been made about any further expansion of the STC estate.
§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the forecast budget is for(a) local authority secure units, (b) young offenders institutions and (c) secure training centres in (i) 2002–03, (ii) 2003–04 and (iii) 2004–05. [85200]
§ Hilary BennThe Home Office pays annual grant to the Youth Justice Board to meet the costs of the youth justice service in England and Wales, including the provision of juvenile secure accommodation. The Board's forecast expenditure in 2002–03 and its provisional budget for 2003–04, subject to final decisions on allocations following the Spending Review 2002 Settlement for secure accommodation, is as follows:
£ million 2002–03 2003–04 Local authority secure units 56 53 Young offender institutions 155 161 Secure training centres1 38 59 1 Includes capital Details of provision for 2004–05 are not yet available following the Spending Review Settlement and are the subject of discussions between the Department and the board.