The Commission on Freedom of Information issued a call for evidence on 9 October, with a deadline of midnight tonight.
Article 39 has submitted evidence of important information brought into the public domain because of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This includes information: about the restraint techniques authorised for use in secure training centres (child prisons) run by G4S and Serco; data on the strip-searching of children in custody, together with the number of times force was used to remove children’s clothes; and prison officers disciplined for mistreating children.
We also highlight information that has been requested and refused, including: confirmation that ministers have obtained legal advice in respect of the deliberate infliction of severe pain as a form of restraint in child prisons, and publication of such advice; the prison service review report into the sexual abuse of women and girls in Downview prison in Surrey; and the manual showing restraint techniques in the Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) system, introduced into child prisons from 2013.