Children Falling Through the Devolution Gap

CHILDREN FALLING THROUGH THE DEVOLUTION GAP

The age of criminal responsibly in Britain is 10; the average around Europe is between 14 and 16, and we have of the highest rates of custody for children. Drug, alcohol and mental health problems are rising with 85% of children in prison showing signs of a personality disorder and one in ten showing signs of a psychotic illness. Children in prison are 18 times more likely to suicide than children in the community.

HMP Parc and YOI in Bridgend, was opened in 2002 and has 64 places, enabling young offenders to serve their sentence in Wales closer to family support. Recent figures obtained from the prison Reform Trust show that Bridgend has the second highest percentages in Wales of children given custodial sentences by magistrates and the fifth highest remanded to secure accommodation.

Given this background I was concerned to read in the report of an unannounced inspection of the juvenile wing at Parc in October 2007 that ; ‘there was no community adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) input, and young people with serious mental health problems were transferred elsewhere - usually to HMYOI Ashfield.'

For months I have sought clarification from the Ministry of Justice, Wales Office and officials in Wales.. I have also spoken with a variety of professionals who work within CAMHS and within the criminal justice system in England and Wales. They tell me that, ‘some of the young people seen from Wales are the most deprived we ever deal with' and that it is difficult to both arrange transfers from Parc and access to community mental health services on discharge from English YOI's.

Secretary of State for Wales, Paul Murphy MP in a written reply to my question in May 2008 informed me that Health Commission Wales hoped to provide a Forensic Adolescent Consultation and Treatment Team which would provide services to children in Parc by summer 2008.

In June 2008, Edwina Hart AM the Welsh minister for Health and Social Services advised that the Local Health Board was facilitating a multi agency meeting to identify the issues and scale of the problem which would report back to the Prison Health Care Partnership Board.

In July, I met the Deputy Director of Parc, Head of Contracts at the YJB, the Director of Offender Management, NOMs Wales and the specialist nurse at YOI Parc. At this meeting the right of young people to receive the same level mental health service as they would in the community was reiterated. However, while the provision of health care in England is specified and agreed by the Department of Health, I was told that NOM's Wales did not have a parallel arrangement with the Welsh Assembly Government which has devolved responsibility for health.