Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on the plans for a Secure College.

The Coalition Government originally legislated for Secure Colleges as a way to deliver better education in the youth justice system. This Government is also completely committed to improving the quality of education enjoyed by young offenders. This is one of the Government's top priorities. But the nature of the challenge has changed. The youth custody population has fallen from 1,349 in January 2013 to 999 in April 2015, a fall of 26%. A Secure College could have been desirable with a larger population, but it would not be right to house one third of the entire youth offender population in one setting. It would also be a mistake to press ahead with such a development when resources are so tight.

We are therefore not going ahead with the creation of a secure college pathfinder. All work on the proposed secure college pathfinder at Glen Parva has now ceased.