Today, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, has published a Government statement on the allegations of abuse directed towards young people at the Medway Secure Training Centre (MSTC), run by G4S.
I am pleased that the Government has taken the step to appoint an Independent Improvement Board, comprised of 4 members with substantial expertise in education, running secure establishments and looking after children with behavioural difficulties. The Board will provide increased oversight, scrutiny and challenge of managerial arrangements, in particular in relation to the safeguarding of young people, and will be due to complete its work by the end of March 2016.
The Government has also tasked G4S with putting an improvement plan in place, which this Board will oversee. Admittedly, this situation raises questions I would like answering over whether G4S have the capability to effectively run a youth offenders institute, containing some of our community’s most challenging and vulnerable young people, given the essential rehabilitation and life skills they need to survive.
As I have stated in the House of Commons, the need for a full independent investigation is essential to carry out a thorough review of the safeguarding processes and measures that are in place at Medway. I believe that this is the correct way forward to ensure that those young people who are placed at Medway are appropriately looked after, and as the local Member of Parliament I am keen to see this progress as soon as possible.
The Terms of Reference for the Independent Improvement Board are to:
- investigate the safeguarding arrangements at Medway in order to inform the development and approval of the improvement plan to be produced by G4S and any steps to be taken by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and other organisations.
oversee, challenge and support G4S in implementing their improvement plan.
report to the Secretary of State on the Board’s confidence in the capability of G4S, YJB and other organisations to meet appropriate safeguarding standards at Medway STC in the future, and the performance and monitoring arrangements required to provide assurance.
submit any recommendations on the safeguarding of young people in custody, including the role of the YJB and other organisations, to inform practice in the wider youth custodial estate and Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system.
The full Government statements can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/youth-announcement