In this issue, we share an October 2022 judgment in which the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court was used to authorise the deprivation of liberty of a 13 year-old child for the eighth time, after continued deprivation of her liberty in a hospital due to a lack of suitable, secure accommodation. The judgment contains … Read more
Article 39 has obtained data from local authorities showing there were more than 550 allegations of abuse and neglect in England’s seven child prisons over the past three years. Whenever there is reasonable suspicion that a child is suffering significant harm, councils are required under the Children Act 1989 to investigate to see whether they … Read more
In a letter this week to Shadow Children’s Minister Emma Lewell-Buck MP, Justice Minister Edward Argar MP announced that Charlie Taylor has been appointed to lead a review of the authorisation of pain-inducing restraint on children detained in young offender institutions and secure training centres, and during escort to these prisons and secure children’s homes. … Read more
Article 39 has responded to the Department of Health and Department for Education’s consultation on ‘Reducing the need for restraint and restrictive intervention’ with children and young people with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder and mental health difficulties. In October 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities urged the UK to: … Read more
Article 39 has obtained a copy of the Independent Medical Assessor’s rating of different restraint techniques and scenarios applying to: children in custody; children escorted to custody; and children being deported on aircraft. This is the first time this information has entered the public domain. We elicited the information through freedom of information request to … Read more