---

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

My Lords, I support strongly what my noble friend Lord Elystan-Morgan has just said. In fact, we are not talking about sending children aged 18 to adult prisons. As I understand it, the amendment concerns secure accommodation, young offender institutions and secure training centres. But what my noble friend has said is absolutely right: it is a question of the lack of resources at the local level for local secure accommodation. That is what is needed. One or two people have to be taken away from the community; there is no doubt about that. I do not know how many noble Lords have been, as I have, to young offender institutions and to secure training centres. I have been to both. They are not the dreadful places that they are made out to be. The standard of some of the staff is extremely high. However, the basic fact is that sufficient resources are not available at the local level for secure local authority places.