Article 39 has today (25 October 2021) written to the Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, calling for an inquiry into the alleged abuse and human rights violations of children living in G4S-run Oakhill secure training centre. The move comes after a whistleblower contacted the charity last month, alleging: serious child abuse over a protracted period of … Read more
In late July, the Supreme Court ruled on the use of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in cases where a local authority seeks authorisation to deprive a child of their liberty in accommodation that has not been approved for this purpose. The case was brought by T, a young woman whose deprivation of … Read more
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
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
Next week the Court of Appeal will hear Article 39’s appeal of a High Court ruling that the Education Secretary acted lawfully in failing to consult children and young people, the Children’s Commissioner for England and other children’s rights organisations before removing and diluting 65 safeguards for children in care. This radical deregulation was achieved … Read more