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Young Offenders: HMP Woodhill
Baroness Stern asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The numbers of juveniles (aged 15-17) detained in HMP Woodhill for each year as at June 30, is shown in the table below:
| Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
Woodhill Young Offender Institution accommodates young adults and occasionally takes under 18 year-olds who have been classified Category A prisoners.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Young People: Custody
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of young people under the age of 18 in custody have been imprisoned for drugs-related offences. [HL1478]
30 Jan 2008 : Column WA136
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): At the end of November 2007 in prison establishments in England and Wales there were (a) 1,805 sentenced 15-17 year-olds of which 4 per cent were serving sentences for drug offences; and (b) 546 15-17 year-olds being held on remand, of which 8 per cent were for drug offences.
At the end of December 2007, there were 220 young people in secure children's homes, of whom none was in for drug-related offences. There were 246 young people in secure training centres, of whom two were in custody for drug-related offences, making the proportion in custody 0.8 per cent.
These numbers relate to specific drugs offences only (including the possession and supply of drugs) and not to other offences (such as those involving acquisitive crime) which may be related to drugs issues of the offender.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many young people in custody were receiving mental health treatment on 1 January for each year from 2000 to 2008. [HL1480]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Information about access to services is not held centrally.
In the study Mental Health Needs and Effectiveness of Provision for Young Offenders in Custody and in the Community (Professor Richard Harrington and Professor Sue Bailey, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, 2005), 31 per cent of young people were identified as having a mental health problem. A copy is available in the Library.
Mental health services for prisoners, including young people, have been a key part of the Government's recent reforms of prison health services and the Department of Health is now investing nearly £20 million a year in NHS mental health in-reach services for prisoners. In 2007-08, an extra £4 million has been invested in the further development of mental health services within local HM Prison Service establishments, of which £1.5 million is to support the implementation of tier 3 child and adolescent mental health services within the HMPS young people estate.
These are 102 community mental health teams working within prisons, with some 360 extra staff employed. Every prison in England and Wales has access to these services.
All young people are assessed at the point of reception into custody and those who are at risk of having a mental health problem, or vulnerable to suicide, are referred for a mental health assessment.
In 2001, the Department of Health published Promoting Mental Health for Children Held in Secure Sittings: A Framework for Commissioning Services to support primary care trusts with custodial units in their area to plan, commission and deliver requirements as per the Children's National Service Framework. A copy will be placed in the Library.
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