Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre

Justice Committee Closed Non-inquiry session
Opened: 2 Mar 2021 Closed: 25 Oct 2023 Parliament page
7 Recommendations
10 Conclusions
2 Reports
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 7 events
22 Jul
2021
Correspondence
19 Jul
2021
Report published
24 Jun
2021
Report published
29 Mar
2021
Report published
9 Mar
2021
Formal meeting · Virtual meeting
24 Feb
2021
Correspondence
19 Jan
2021
Correspondence
Title HC No. Published Items Response
2nd Report - Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre HC 247 24 Jun 2021 0 Responded
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre HC 1266 29 Mar 2021 17 Overdue
Recommendations & Conclusions
17 results
1 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
The litany of inaction and what one inspector called “utter incompetence” at Rainsbrook year after...
The litany of inaction and what one inspector called “utter incompetence” at Rainsbrook year after year provides a cautionary tale of how badly an arms-length relationship between the Ministry of Justice as a client and MTC as the company hired … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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2 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We recognise that all prisons and other custodial institutions face additional pressures during the current...
We recognise that all prisons and other custodial institutions face additional pressures during the current covid-19 pandemic, but we do not consider those to be justification or excuse for the continued poor conditions at Rainsbrook and the repeated absence of … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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3 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
Staffing at Rainsbrook was affected by covid-19, but so was the number of children at...
Staffing at Rainsbrook was affected by covid-19, but so was the number of children at the centre, down to around half of capacity. The staff-to-child ratio was broadly unaffected and additional financial resource was provided to MTC by the Ministry … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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4 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We are glad that new management is in place at MTC, particularly a new director...
We are glad that new management is in place at MTC, particularly a new director on site and a new head of education, and that the YCS has taken steps to improve its on- site presence. We note the promises … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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5 Recommendation
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
High staff turnover experienced at Rainsbrook, has, without a doubt, contributed to the significant failings...
High staff turnover experienced at Rainsbrook, has, without a doubt, contributed to the significant failings at the centre. Youth custodial institutions are vastly different to the adult estate, and require staff who have an understanding and experience of the environment … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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6 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
The children held in secure institutions have committed often very serious crimes but also include...
The children held in secure institutions have committed often very serious crimes but also include some of the most vulnerable members of society. Those in detention at Rainsbrook were considered too vulnerable to be placed in Young Offender Institutions. The … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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7 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
It is a startling indictment of senior managers at MTC that the overwhelming majority of...
It is a startling indictment of senior managers at MTC that the overwhelming majority of recommendations made by the joint inspectorates in February 2020 were not actioned. Those managers and the company appear largely to have ignored those recommendations until … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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8 Recommendation
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We are not confident in MTC’s ability to deliver the action required by recommendations repeatedly...
We are not confident in MTC’s ability to deliver the action required by recommendations repeatedly made over a period of years by the three inspectorates. We recommend that MTC and the Youth Custody Service report to us by June 2021, … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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9 Recommendation
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
It is clear that further work needs to be done on the way in which...
It is clear that further work needs to be done on the way in which the prison service more generally responds to recommendations. It is important for all organisations that they are able to learn from external sources of assurance. … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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10 Recommendation
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We welcome the implementation of a new assurance process.
We welcome the implementation of a new assurance process. More is required than that, however, given what we have heard about action plans being written but not acted on. Those charged with overseeing previous assurances processes failed in the basic … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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11 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
The Ministry of Justice, Youth Custody Service, HMPPS and MTC failed in their management and...
The Ministry of Justice, Youth Custody Service, HMPPS and MTC failed in their management and oversight of Rainsbrook STC, and the evidence suggests that, in varying degrees, that failure was not limited to one body. We are deeply concerned that … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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12 Recommendation
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We recommend that the Ministry of Justice review monitoring processes in place across the youth...
We recommend that the Ministry of Justice review monitoring processes in place across the youth secure estate to ensure that robust central monitoring is in place. The Ministry should also set out how they intend to learn lessons from the … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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13 Recommendation
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
Embedding YCS staff within the institutions whose performance they are monitoring is clearly good practice...
Embedding YCS staff within the institutions whose performance they are monitoring is clearly good practice in principle but is not sufficient on its own. The Minister should consider having additional monitors travelling around sites, or a further form of independent … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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14 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We are concerned that Ministry of Justice awarded MTC the maximum possible contract extension.
We are concerned that Ministry of Justice awarded MTC the maximum possible contract extension. Based on the evidence heard on 9 March, coupled with the inspectorates’ findings, it is clear that MTC have failed to fulfil a number of contractual … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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15 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We seek a clear explanation of why the Ministry of Justice chose to extend MTC’s...
We seek a clear explanation of why the Ministry of Justice chose to extend MTC’s contract by two years when the contractor’s ability to deliver was already in question, and we ask what ministerial involvement there was in making that … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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16 Recommendation
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
Consistently sub-standard performance of a contract does not merit renewal in any circumstances.
Consistently sub-standard performance of a contract does not merit renewal in any circumstances. We recommend that the Secretary of State urgently reviews whether his Ministry plans to renew any other contract or any contractor whose performance is similarly consistently poor. Read more
Ministry of Justice
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17 Conclusion
17th Report - Rainsbrook Secure Tr…
We are glad to hear the Secretary of State, rt hon.
We are glad to hear the Secretary of State, rt hon. Robert Buckland QC MP, say “I absolutely take and hold accountability overall, which I am prepared to accept, and I do so in front of the Committee”. No-one likes, … Read more
Ministry of Justice
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Correspondence 3 letters
22 Jul 2021 To committee Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, dated 16 July 2021, regarding Urgent Notification for Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre
Parliament page
24 Feb 2021 To committee Letter from Lucy Frazer QC MP, dated 22 February 2021, regarding Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre
Parliament page
19 Jan 2021 To committee Letter from Lucy Frazer QC MP, Minister of State for Justice, dated 15 January 2021, regarding Urgent Notification for Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre
Parliament page