Councils are calling for an urgent action plan to be made to improve the safety of Young Offender Institutions (YOI).

A report by the HM Inspector of Prisons in July found that none of the institutions inspected were safe, but a clear plan of action to improve this is yet to be made says the Local Government Association.

Across England and Wales there are 11 YOIs, eight male and three female. Feltham Prison is London's only YOI with a total capacity of 540.

The prison can hold 180 young people and 360 young adults.

Young people are categorised as those between the age of 15 to 18 and have been sentenced or reprimanded by the courts.

The young adults consist of sentenced offenders between the ages of 18-21.

The report found that in the past five years the number of self-harming and assaults in children and young people had almost doubled.

In 2011 the self-harming rate was 4.1 incidents per 100 children with the rate now standing at 8.9 incidents per 100 children.

Assault numbers rose drastically to 18.9 incidents per 100 children compared to 9.7 in 2011.

Concerns about the safety of Feltham Prison has been raised before.

Feltham Young Offender Institution

More than 370 councils are represented by the Local Government Association (LGA), which is calling on the government to make a plan to improve safety at YOIs.

Councils have an obligation to ensure that children in their area are safe but have limited powers when it comes to youths in custody.

Councillor Richard Watts, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said:“Councils take their responsibility toward child safety extremely seriously, and work hard to ensure that children and young people are never put in situations that would put them at risk.

“There is no other situation in which children and young people would be placed into environments that are known to be unsafe, and youth custody should be no exception."

Nearly three months after the report was published, the LGA is still waiting for the government to give a clear action plan.

Cllr Watts said: “Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service were made aware of these issues in July, yet we still have no clear idea of what action will be taken, and by when, to rectify the situation and make sure our young people are safe in custody.

“This situation would not be acceptable for local authorities, schools or any other public institution charged with the care of children, and it should not be acceptable for HMPPS. Action needs to be taken to ensure that young people are safe in custody.”

The Ministry of Justice has said it is clear "more needs to be done" for the safety and welfare of young people in custody.

A MoJ spokesman said: "The safety and welfare of every young person in custody is our absolute priority and we are clear that more needs to be done to achieve this.

“But we also want custody to improve the life chances of children in our care and to deliver improvements to education and health services within youth custody.

“That’s why we have created a new Youth Custody Service, with an executive director for the first time in the department’s history – to make sure this vital area is given the priority and weight it deserves.

“The new director will lead the implementation of reforms to the running of the youth estate, including boosting the number of frontline staff by 20% - all of whom will be specially trained to work in the youth estate.”

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