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Concern as Reliance wins child transport contract |
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Tuesday, 25 March 2008 |
Private operator Reliance has won the contract to transport children and young people sentenced to detention by Scottish courts to and from secure units.
The move has been criticised by both Children’s Commissioner Kathleen
Marshall and prisons campaign group the Howard League, who question the
suitability of private sector security staff interacting with
vulnerable children.
The contract will run for three years and will see Reliance
transporting sentenced young people on around 300 occasions a year.
Reliance already holds the contract to transport Scotland’s prisoners
to and from prisons, police stations and courts. The company attracted
controversy in 2004 when a number of prisoners under its care absconded.
Since then, however, Reliance’s performance has improved, and the
company has been praised in a report by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector
of Prisons, Dr Andrew McLellan.
While Reliance says it will use specially trained staff for the transfers, John Scott of the Howard League is not convinced.
“Our position is that we are generally against the expansion of the
private sector into the custodial and judicial system. The experience
of other countries has shown us that when the private sector gets
involved, corners are cut and best practice gives way to shareholders’
profits.
“There is also an issue with high staff turnover and training levels.
When you are dealing with children, like any vulnerable people, you
need to have very highly trained staff who are sensitive to their needs
and won’t engage in any use of excessive force.”
Children’s Commissioner Kathleen Marshall echoed the League’s concerns,
and raised concerns about who would be accompanying sentenced young
people on the journeys.
Marshall said: “Without knowing the detail of this agreement, I’d like
to stress that processes and procedures for transferring children and
young people must safeguard their welfare and their rights. There is
some anecdotal evidence that this is currently not the case. For
instance, I’d like assurances that all children and young people are
accompanied by their social worker or another known adult when being
taken to a secure unit for the first time. I hope that the contract for
this service gives the appropriate weight to children’s welfare in
decisions about how they are to be transferred to secure units. I’ll be
keeping a watching brief on developments.”
Jim Greenoak, Reliance’s operations director in Scotland, said: “We are
delighted to have won this contract which represents a real vote of
confidence in our efficiency and cost effectiveness. We believe we have
the expertise and experienced staff to provide a professional and
effective service which will give priority to the welfare and safety of
these children while, at the same time, protecting the public.
“We now hope to build on this success by winning other public sector
contracts especially those where we can give the authorities the
opportunity to better use their own experienced staff and reduce their
costs.”
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 March 2008 )
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Holyrood magazine 
