Offender Management Bill

moved Amendment No. 124: 124: After Clause 30, insert the following new Clause— ““Young offenders not to be detained in prisons (1) In section 27(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1948 (c. 58) (remand of persons aged 17 to 20) omit the words— (a) ““, if the court has been notified by the Secretary of State that a remand centre is available for the reception from the court of persons of his class or description,””, and (b) ““and, if it has not been so notified, it shall commit him to a prison.”” (2) In section 43(2) of the Prisons Act 1952 (c. 52) (remand centres, detention centres and youth custody centres) paragraph (c). is omitted (3) For section 106 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c. 6) there is substituted— ““106 Interaction with sentences of detention in a young offender institution (1) Where a court passes a sentence of detention in a young offender institution in the case of an offender who is subject to a detention and training order, the sentence shall take effect as follows— (a) if the offender has been released by virtue of subsection (2), (3), (4) or (5) of section 102 above, at the beginning of the day on which it is passed; (b) if not, either as mentioned in paragraph (a) above or, if the court so orders, at the time when the offender would otherwise be released by virtue of subsection (2), (3), (4) or (5) of section 102 above. (2) Where a court makes a detention and training order in the case of an offender who is subject to a sentence of detention in a young offender institution, the order shall take effect as follows— (a) if the offender has been released under Part II of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (early release of prisoners), at the beginning of the day on which it is made; (b) if not, either as mentioned in paragraph (a) above or, if the court so orders, at the time when the offender would otherwise be released under that Part. (3) Subsection (1)(a) above has effect subject to section 105(3)(a) above and subsection (2)(a) above has effect subject to section 116(6)(b) below. (4) Subject to subsection (5) below, where at any time an offender is subject concurrently— (a) to a detention and training order, and (b) to a sentence of detention in a young offender institution, he shall be treated for the purposes of sections 102 to 105 above and of section 98 above (place of detention), Chapter IV of this Part (return to detention) and Part II of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (early release) as if he were subject only to the one of them that was imposed on the later occasion. (5) Nothing in subsection (4) above shall require the offender to be released in respect of either the order or the sentence unless and until he is required to be released in respect of each of them. (6) Where, by virtue of any enactment giving a court power to deal with a person in a way in which a court on a previous occasion could have dealt with him, a detention and training order for any term is made in the case of a person who has attained the age of 18, the person shall be treated as if he had been sentenced to detention in a young offender institution for the same term.”” (4) Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Court ServicesAct 2000 (c. 43) (abolition of sentences of detention in a young offender institution, custody for life, etc.) is repealed.”” The noble Baroness said: The amendment is in my name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Judd. The Minister will no doubt be aware and relieved to know that it is a probing amendment which enables us at least to consider how possible it will be always to keep young people out of adult prison. At the end of March 2007, there were 9,311 young adults in prisons in England and Wales, two-thirds of whom had been sentenced to less than 12 months. We are using prison for many people whose offences cannot be seen as being among the most serious. They are a very disadvantaged group of young people. In a thematic report on this group in 1997, the then Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, now the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, said: "““In my view it would be wrong to ignore the particular needs of those aged 18 to 21 by regarding them as adult prisoners. For many the process of maturation will still be taking place beyond ""the age of 18 and they still require help and direction to become adults. The inability to withstand peer pressure is a particular feature of this age group … Others will be vulnerable and, if mixed with adults, might well be preyed upon””." Most of those who are involved in this field would agree strongly with that view. Young people under the age of 21 should not be held in adult prisons with adult prisoners, yet we know that, with prison overcrowding, they are often placed there. An article in the Guardian of 30 April stated that, from that date, the private security staff who operate the prison vans would be asked to make the initial decision on whether young adults who were awaiting trial in London—that is, who had not been convicted—were mentally strong enough to be held in an adult prison, or whether they were too much of a suicide risk and should instead be sent to Feltham Young Offender Institution. The article said that those who were sent to adult prisons, presumably those who were of strong-enough mind and not too much of a suicide risk, were to be held on designated landings; that is, as separate as possible from adult prisoners. However, prison staff told the Guardian: "““We are not able to take care of them. Our operational capacity is being reduced slightly to allow a few more single cells but we have no facilities for them. Somebody will get badly hurt””." Our purpose in moving the amendment is to elicit from the Minister a view on how far the Government support putting young adults in adult prisons. Do they see it increasing or as being deeply regrettable? Can they assure the Committee that they are working to ensure that it does not happen? I beg to move.