Success for our legal challenge to end unlawful separation of children in Oakhill secure training centre

In May, we reported that the Howard League had issued legal proceedings in the High Court challenging the treatment of children and young people in a secure training centre in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The case concerned a policy that allowed girls and boys (aged 12 to 19) held in custody at Oakhill to be locked in their rooms, by themselves, for longer than the law allows.

Last month we were given permission for the case to proceed, and a hearing was scheduled at the High Court in November. However, we are pleased to update that the government has now conceded the claim.

The Secretary of State for Justice has accepted that children held in a secure training centre cannot be left unaccompanied in their room for more than three hours, as required by the law governing secure training centres, and that staff at the secure training centre cannot override this.

He has committed to ensuring that children will only be separated from their peers in accordance with the law, and that the policy for separating children at Oakhill will be updated and communicated to staff.

An application has been made to the Court seeking its approval for the case to be concluded on these terms.

Unlawful separation is only one of the issues affecting children held at Oakhill. In July, an Urgent Notification was issued by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and HM Inspectorate of Prisons, following an inspection of Oakhill earlier that month. The inspectors found “profoundly serious and systemic failures that mean children have been and remain at risk of harm.” Inspectors reported that children were being separated for lengthy extended periods, sometimes for days at a time.

Privately-run secure training centres are a flawed model of child detention

Earlier this month, the inspectors published their full inspection report, which provided further detail about the indignities faced by children at Oakhill. Inspectors found that children had not had their hair cared for or cut for some time, with some children’s hair falling out or their plaits becoming matted. Some children were living in unsanitary conditions and communal areas, such as kitchens and carpets, were very dirty. Children did not have enough to eat and were bored, with little to do in the evening. Their health concerns were not always quickly investigated, leading to delays in diagnosis and required treatment. A lack of staff meant that visits from families were curtailed, with some visits lasting only 15 minutes despite families having travelled long distances.

The findings by inspectors underscore what the Howard League has long said: privately-run secure training centres are a flawed model of child detention. Oakhill should be closed, and it is only the fact that young offender institutions are hardly a welcome alternative that the centre is kept open. The treatment of children in custody desperately needs a root-and-branch review.

In the meantime, we will not hesitate to challenge unlawful policies and practices, including in the Court where necessary.

The Howard League was represented by Ayesha Christie at Matrix Chambers.

The Howard League is also grateful to Law for Change for their support to bring this challenge, and for this statement, issued in response to the Secretary of State’s decision: ”Law for Change are proud to have supported the Howard League for Penal Reform in challenging the unlawful ‘Removal from Association Policy’, which enabled secure training centres to isolate and confine young people to their rooms for far longer than the law permitted.

“We welcome the Secretary of State for Justice’s decision to rectify this policy and hope it marks a step towards creating healthier, more constructive environments that give young people in these units the support they need and the best chance of rehabilitation.”

Sinead MacCann
Managing Solicitor

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