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Vol. 716 Wednesday No. 24 13 January 2010 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Questions Prisons: Search and Restraint Further Education: Capital Investment Public Expenditure HMRC: Winding-up Petitions Personal Care at Home Bill First Reading Haiti: Earthquake Statement Equality Bill Committee (2nd day) Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure Vacancies in Suffragan Sees and Other Ecclesiastical Offices Measure Crown Benefices (Parish Representatives) Measure Motions to Present for Royal Assent Equality Bill Committee (2nd day) (continued) Grand Committee Bribery Bill [HL] Committee (2nd day) Written Statements Written Answers For column numbers see back page £3·50 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. The bound volumes also will be sent to those Peers who similarly notify their wish to receive them. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. 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All prices are inclusive of postage. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2010, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/ 501 Prisons: Search and Restraint[13 JANUARY 2010] Prisons: Search and Restraint 502 Baroness Walmsley: Will the Minister join me in House of Lords regretting the decision by the YJB to appeal the decision by the Information Commissioner that the restraint Wednesday, 13 January 2010. manual should be published? Parents at the very least, if not the wider public, should certainly know what is 3pm happening to their young people. Will the Government go further and follow the model of the Australian Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Chichester. department of corrections, which involves parents in planning the management of young people following Prisons: Search and Restraint serious incidents? Question Lord Bach: I am afraid that I do not agree with the 3.06 pm noble Baroness on that. The general part of the manual is already in the Library of the House. The part that Asked By Baroness Stern has not been disclosed is the detailed description of To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the the specific techniques. We believe that a detailed report of 8 December from the Council of Europe’s knowledge of the techniques, as applied, would allow Committee for the Prevention of Torture, whether those being restrained to take countermeasures that they propose to continue routine strip-searching would reduce the effectiveness of the techniques and and the use of restraint techniques involving the put trainees, staff and other persons in the secure infliction of pain in prison establishments for those establishment at risk. As the noble Baroness says, the under 18. Information Commissioner’s decision on this is being appealed, and we will just have to await the result. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): My Lords, the Government are Baroness Corston: My Lords, perhaps I may draw currently reviewing full search practice in the under-18 the attention of my noble friend the Minister to one of secure estate to ensure that it is proportionate and the recommendations in my report on women in prison, appropriate, and they will fully consider any the effect of which was to abolish routine strip-searching recommendations that arise from the review. Physical in women’s prisons from 1 April 2009, and its replacement restraint in the under-18 secure estate is to be used by a new system whereby strip-searching was done on only as a last resort where all other options have not an intelligence basis rather than as a matter of routine. succeeded or could not succeed in bringing a violent I understand that the effect has been wholly beneficial. or potentially dangerous situation under control. A Might not that be considered in the light of this review new system of restraint for use in the under-18 secure of routine strip-searching for young people? estate is currently being developed. Baroness Stern: I thank the Minister for that reply. Lord Bach: I am very grateful to my noble friend for Does he agree that this report from the Council of reminding us that her report led to that change, particularly Europe committee echoes what has been said in your with regard to female offenders aged 17. One of the Lordships’ House many times—that the deliberate matters that we are looking at hard, with the Youth infliction of pain as a method of controlling young Justice Board review about to go to the relevant Ministers, people in custody is unacceptable? Does he recall that is whether intelligence-led searching is not a better in December 2008 the Government said that the technique way forward. of inflicting pain on the nose in prison institutions for juveniles would be replaced with a safer alternative Baroness Howarth of Breckland: My Lords, I am within six months? That was 13 months ago. Can the sure that the Minister would not necessarily agree with Minister tell the House what has happened to that me on the matter of placing our young people in penal commitment and when he expects this dangerous practice establishments rather than in establishments that deal to be stopped? with their development and their particular difficulties. However, I have been responsible for some of the Lord Bach: My Lords, I start by saying what is establishments that have had some of the most difficult probably obvious to Members of the House: unfortunately, young people in them, and it is my experience that but in the real world, the behaviour of some young changing from a regime that looks at their development people in custody is extremely challenging and can put and difficulties to one that places the majority of them their own safety and that of other young people and in penal establishments leads, in fact, to a deterioration staff at serious risk. We have to be realistic about this. in their behaviour. Would it not be better to look more We have accepted the recommendation from the strategically at where young people are placed and at independent review of restraints that the nose distraction how we look at their future, rather than considering technique should be withdrawn from use in the under-18 the matter piecemeal as we address this very difficult estate. The technique has been withdrawn from secure issue of inflicting pain? training centres and will be withdrawn from young offender institutions once a suitable alternative is in Lord Bach: My Lords, I agree with a great deal of place. The decision not to withdraw it prior to that is what the noble Baroness says. Unfortunately, young based on the need to have in place a technique that people occasionally need to be remanded in secure enables staff to deal quickly and effectively with incidents accommodation or, at a particular age, in a young of violence by young people where they may be biting offender institution. I hope she will agree that a huge a member of staff or another young person. change has taken place in the way in which training 503 Prisons: Search and Restraint[LORDS] Further Education: Capital Investment 504 [LORD BACH] additional funding from the 16-19 capital fund or and education occur in those establishments—which elsewhere, which can help the colleges meet their are crucial to trying to ensure not only that young commitments? offenders are punished but that, when they come out, they can avoid crime in the future. I want to reassure Lord Young of Norwood Green: My department, her that the ideas that she has put forward are very through its FE capital fund, will spend £1.7 billion on much our ideas too. college buildings in the current comprehensive spending review, with a further £900 million already earmarked Lord Campbell of Alloway: May I, for once, rather for the next spending period. This government policy support the Government? In this particular situation, has meant that since 2001, 700 projects and nearly where gangs of children have taken charge of our 300 colleges have been funded, transforming the FE streets and our cities, it is no easy problem. We are not estate for learners. I remind the noble Baroness that in obviously dealing with it in the right way, but it is 1997 not a single penny was earmarked for college difficult to criticise at this time, unless anyone can building developments.