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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with research into the age limit for children remaining with mothers serving terms of imprisonment; what the membership of the working group conducting the research is; what the size of the sample used in the research is; what methods are being employed; and when he expects to publish the results. [147468] Mr. Boateng: A pilot study is to be set up which will assess the benefits and drawbacks of children remaining in prison with their mothers beyond the current age limit of 18 months. The anticipated start date of the pilot is 1 June 2001. The Steering Group is chaired jointly by the Head of Prison Service Women's Policy Group and the Operational Manager for Women's Prisons. It includes members from the four prison Mother and Baby Units, Social Services, Social Services Inspectorate, Association of Chief Officers of Probation, Prison Service Health Policy Unit and a number of experts on child health care, including a child psychologist and a child psychiatrist. The Steering Group will decide on the size of the sample, the method of evaluation and the length of the pilot. The results of the pilot will be published on completion.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

147468; 362 c79W

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Children Age Women Pilot schemes Prisoners Prisons Mothers Research

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk