Restraint research published

The Youth Justice Board has published research it commissioned in 2013 on the use of head-holds in child prisons. Twenty-two adults studying at Coventry University, aged between 18 and 24, volunteered to have their heart and lung function tested in a laboratory whilst they were subject to 12 different head-holds. The psychological impact on the … Read more

Introduce statutory limits to immigration detention, says UN

UK law must set limits on how long an individual can be held in immigration detention, says the UN Human Rights Committee. The UN body of experts monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, whose rights were drawn from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights established after the Second World … Read more

Government commits to “embedding children’s rights”

The government has committed to giving due consideration to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child when developing new policy and legislation. This pledge was first made on behalf of the coalition government by former children’s minister Sarah Teather, back in December 2010. The renewed promise came in response to a parliamentary … Read more

When did government stop keeping tally on prisoner compensation?

In a reply to a parliamentary question from Conservative MP Phillip Davies, prisons minister Andrew Selous says the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) no longer keeps track of compensation payments made to prisoners for, among other things, assaults and medical negligence. Details of such claims were last released to parliament in September 2010 and showed … Read more

Central government must listen more to care leavers

In a review of support and services offered to care leavers, the National Audit Office (NAO) urges the government to “do more to listen to care leavers and hear their suggestions for improving services”. Praising the work of the Office of Children’s Commissioner and local authorities like Derbyshire County Council, the NAO says not enough … Read more