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Written question asked by Lynne Jones (Labour) on Friday, 27 January 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 31 January 2006. It was answered by Fiona Mactaggart (Labour) on Monday, 9 October 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Young Offenders

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been kept in penal custody in each of the last three years; what proportion of children so held had (a) some form of mental health problem, (b) a history of having been in care, (c) literacy levels below the average for their age, (d) had no educational provision, (e) reported experience of violence at home and (f) reported suffering from sexual abuse.
Answer

The information regarding the numbers of children under the age of 18 who are held in custody is provided in the following table. All children in penal custody below statutory school leaving age have access to educational provision regarding (a) to (c) and (e) and(f). Information on these is not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost, although research in these areas is published in Annex D of the Social Exclusion Unit report ““Reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners””.

Young persons population in custody at 30 June 2003-05
2003 2004 2005
Local authority secure children’s homes 327 267 237
Secure training centres 183 181 248
Prison establishments 2,253 2,274 2,310
Source:
RDS-NOMS monthly briefs.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
47527; 450 c537W;450 c543W
Session
2005-06
Related items
Children in Custody
Thursday, 23 March 2006
Written questions
House of Commons
Children in Custody
Monday, 27 March 2006
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Children Abuse Custodial treatment Young offenders
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk