Kent Church threatens legal action to protect children from solitary confinement

A Kent church is calling for the Ministry of Justice to immediately end the illegal solitary confinement of children in Rainsbrook secure training centre otherwise they will seek such protection from the High Court. “Children have been locked in solitary confinement for up to 23½ hours a day. No child should be locked up unlawfully … Read more

Education Select Committee holds pre-appointment hearing with government’s preferred candidate for Children’s Commissioner for England

On Tuesday 15 December at 10am, Parliament’s Education Select Committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing with Dame Rachel de Souza, the government’s preferred candidate for the next Children’s Commissioner for England. This short briefing summarises the statutory role of the Children’s Commissioner for England and the history of its development, particularly highlighting legal duties in … Read more

Charities call for urgent closure programme for England’s child prisons

A coalition of charities today (10 December) publishes the case for urgently closing England’s child prisons, warning that they are inflicting irrevocable harm on highly vulnerable children. This harm has been aggravated significantly by the response to COVID-19. The government committed to phasing out child prisons in 2016 but it has not closed a single … Read more