Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of Hassockfield Secure Training Centre on the average journey time of relatives visiting young offenders accommodated in secure training centres.

The Government recognises that maintaining family ties can play an important role in the rehabilitation of young people. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) provides an assisted visits scheme for families of young people in Secure Training Centres (STCs) and Secure Children’s Homes which assists with travel and subsistence costs of visits. Video conferencing can also be used to help families maintain contact.

The YJB does not collect data on average journey time for relatives visiting young people in the youth secure estate. The YJB does collect and monitor data on distance from home for young people. This is considered a more useful measure as it is not affected by people using different modes of transport. Of the nineteen young people that were transferred due to the closure of Hassockfield STC, seven were placed closer to home and nine were placed further from home. Information is not currently available for three young people.