Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill

Lord Bach Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 24th October 2025 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Bach]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

[Lord Bach (Lab)]

My Lords, this is a short, two-clause Bill, but an important one, aimed at amending existing legislation underpinning new secure 16 to 19 academies, otherwise known as secure schools. It comes from the other place, where my honourable friend Emma Foody, the Member of Parliament for Cramlington and Killingworth, sponsored the Bill. In the other place, it enjoyed the support of all parties.

Secure schools are a new form of custody for children and young people. The last Government acted to establish secure 16 to 19 academies in legislation; this Bill will make further necessary amendments to the Academies Act 2010 to make specific provisions in that Act relevant to the establishment of new secure schools.

I will say a word about the background. In 2016, Charlie Taylor published his important review of the youth justice system. The report made a number of important recommendations, including the need, shared by all, to reimagine how we care for children who commit serious enough offences to warrant detaining them in custody. His proposal was to create a new type of custodial environment, focused on the delivery of education and offering children the opportunity to gain the skills and qualifications necessary to prepare them for their release into the community. The Taylor review made a compelling case for change. Transforming the environments in which we detain and provide care for these children is as necessary now as it was then.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 established secure schools in legislation as secure 16 to 19 academies under the Academies Act 2010, and secure children’s homes under the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. This Bill is now needed to make further amendments in the 2010 Act relevant to secure 16 to 19 academies. The proposed changes cover the termination period in which government continues to fund the secure school, should there be a need to end a funding agreement into which it has entered, as Section 2 of the Academies Act 2010 says, for a secure school. The Bill will also amend the duties placed on providers that enter into funding agreements with the Government prior to opening a secure school. These changes will provide for better and more integrated services.

The Bill consists of three measures. First, it will amend Section 2 of the 2010 Act to reduce the notice period for termination of a funding agreement under Section 2(2) of the 2010 Act from seven to two years for secure 16 to 19 academies. A two-year period will enable government to prioritise value for money for the taxpayer and have more flexibility should there be any need to terminate a funding agreement with a secure school provider. Reducing this to two years in this case strikes a balance between avoiding a lengthy exit period, in which government would be committed to continuing to fund the secure school longer than necessary, and ensuring that secure school providers have the certainty of funding to avoid issues with recruiting and retaining the specialist staff required to work in this environment. The Government remain able to terminate funding agreements with secure school providers in the event of poor performance.

Secondly, the Bill will disapply Section 9 of the 2010 Act for secure 16 to 19 academies. This requires that the Secretary of State considers the impact of entering into a new academy funding agreement on other educational establishments in the area. While it is of course important that secure schools are registered as academies to ensure they mirror best practice in the community, they are fundamentally different, as secure schools do not compete with other schools.

Thirdly, the Bill will amend Section 10 of the 2010 Act, which currently requires that an academy provider consults appropriate persons on whether a funding agreement should be entered into. We recognise the importance of considering the impact on local communities when opening any new school. The Bill will amend that section to require the provider to consult appropriate persons on how the secure school should work with local partners, such as elected representatives or health and education services.

By supporting the Bill, the House would have an opportunity to create better services and thus strengthen the impact of secure schools on the lives of children within our justice system. I very much hope that colleagues across the House, as they did in the other place, will give this Bill their full support. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Bach (Lab)]

My Lords, seldom have I heard such unanimity in this House in any debate at any time over many years. I warmly thank all those who have taken part in this important debate. It is important, because this is such a crucial subject for our country and our future. I particularly thank the Minister for her remarks and for the Government’s support for this Private Member’s Bill. Because of the unanimity, I want to say very little at this stage, except to say thank you.

I want to make just a couple of points. One is to agree with the noble Lord, Lord Bates, whose speech I was particularly impressed by. The amount of work that had gone into the research that he had done into this subject was very impressive. The point about continuity in criminal justice policy seems one we have forgotten about for too long. Of course political parties must be free to discuss all issues that affect people, but in criminal justice, where there is automatic opposition from one side or another, it sometimes seems like a real barrier to progress. If we can act in agreement, as we have today at least, where all people of good will feel the same, then we should do so more often.

The only other point I want to make is that schemes such as this are expensive, obviously. They are bound to be and we should say that they are, but I think everyone in the House would agree that they are worth every penny if we can change the life of even one child—I hope many more than that—and give them every chance to lead a good, happy and successful life in the future. I beg to move.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill

Lord Bach Excerpts

Order of Commitment discharged
Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Bach]

That the order of commitment be discharged.

[Lord Bach (Lab)]

My Lords, I understand that no amendments have been set down to this Bill and that no noble Lord has indicated a wish to move a manuscript amendment or to speak in Committee. Unless, therefore, any noble Lord objects, I beg to move that the order of commitment be discharged.

Motion agreed.

Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill

Lord Bach Excerpts

3rd reading
Friday 30th January 2026 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Bach]

That the Bill do now pass.

[Lord Bach (Lab)]

My Lords, I intend to say only a few words on the Motion to thank those who have been closely involved with this Bill as it passed through Parliament. I start with my honourable friend Emma Foody, Member of Parliament for Cramlington and Killingworth, who carefully guided this Bill through the other place. I also thank my noble friend Lady Levitt, the Minister, for her assistance, and of course her officials and others at the Ministry of Justice who have made this task easier. I also thank all noble Lords who spoke at Second Reading of the Bill in this House, and the Front Benches of all parties who have given the Bill the support it needed to become law.

In short, this Bill will allow us to continue to transform how we detain children and young people in custody by delivering education and intensive support in secure schools. The Bill, and the establishment of secure schools within the custodial estate, has had support around the House, and represents, I believe, a pivotal step in reducing offending for some of our most vulnerable children and young people. I am delighted, as I hope the House is, that it will soon be on the statute book. I beg to move.

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bach, for his efforts to take this Bill through your Lordships’ House and for his past work on the Bach commission, which strove to improve the legal aid situation within the UK justice system. As I outlined at Second Reading, secure 16 to 19 academies were conceptualised in Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system, published in 2016, then agreed on and adopted by His Majesty’s loyal Opposition when we were in government. They will now be made more practicable and effective as a result of this Bill.

Secure schools are an idea founded on the principle of rehabilitative justice for our youth with a vision of improving behaviour, mental health and educational attainment. The nature of this aim means that every offender who enters a secure academy will have different requirements, and the academies must therefore be both flexible and adaptable. The Bill reduces expenditure funding for the academies from a seven-year to a two-year horizon. It removes the requirement that the Secretary of State must take into account local schools before accepting the academy, as pupil intake will largely not, if at all, overlap. Finally, it requires a consultation with local partners instead of local schools, bringing process in line with purpose.

It is in everyone’s interests that secure academies work. Young offenders will be given a second chance and, with a fair wind, they will join the workforce and have every chance to succeed. That is why, when in government, we supported the proposals and why we continue to do so now. We need more secure academies and this Bill will help deliver that goal.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Baroness Levitt) (Lab)]

My Lords, I am very pleased to speak at the Third Reading of this Private Member’s Bill. I, too, start with thanks—to my noble friend Lord Bach for steering this small but important Bill through the House and to Emma Foody MP for guiding it through the other place. The secure school model has been developed in accordance with the best available evidence for what works in addressing the underlying causes of youth offending, offering children small and homely environments with healthcare and education at their heart. Importantly, secure schools will allow children in custody to gain skills and qualifications, supporting them to return to the community and lead successful and crime-free lives. In turn, this will protect the public from these children reoffending in the future. The Bill will help us achieve this aim, and I am pleased to see the support that it has had from across your Lordships’ House.

[Lord Bach (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for what he said and, of course, my noble friend the Minister. I do not need to say anything more.