Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a visit to Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, published on 7 December 2020, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing an updated Covid recovery strategy for youth custody

Whilst we are committed to restrict the potential spread of Covid-19 within secure establishments in order to protect children and staff, it is important that children ‘reverse cohorting’ have sufficient opportunities for meaningful social interaction with staff, and where possible, with peers to support their mental and emotional wellbeing. It is our view that the current guidance, drafted with close engagement from NHS England and Public Health England, while fit for purpose, was not being implemented suitably at the centre with regard to children reverse cohorting.

Following the recent assurance visit by Ofsted, the Youth Custody Service (YCS) took immediate steps to ensure the provider expanded opportunities for such interaction for the children in Rainsbrook’s “Reverse Cohorting Unit”. These measures taken took effect from the weekend after the assurance visit.

We continue to monitor the youth estate closely with regard to Covid-19 recovery, to ensure distinct needs of children are taken into account during this challenging time. This has included the creation of ‘YCS-specific’ Exceptional Delivery Models, with the delivery of social visits and education remaining a particular priority as we seek to mirror the position taken for vulnerable children in the community where it is possible to do so.

Every Young Offender Institution (YOI) and Secure Training Centres (STC) – including Rainsbrook STC - has staff testing in place, and reception/transfer testing is being rolled out across the secure estate at pace with the intention for all YOIs and STCs to be testing by the end of January 2021. Whilst this will be dependent on wider health guidance and advice, this level of testing could help reduce the amount of time children are required to ‘reverse cohort’ upon arrival at a secure setting.

To ensure that lessons learned from the Covid-19 period are taken into account going forwards, the YCS have commissioned a programme of research, in collaboration with academics, to evaluate and learn lessons from the impact and response to Covid-19 and the results will inform their recovery planning.