First secure school facing further delays due to charitable status wrangle

The pilot project, which will be established on the site of Medway Secure Training Centre (STC) in Kent, had been due to launch this autumn when announced in October 2018.

The project, which has already been hit by delays, is currently contracted to be run by the Oasis Charitable Trust.

However, correspondence between The Howard League for Penal Reform and the Charity Commission reveals question marks over a charitable trust's eligibility to run a youth justice facility.

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In a letter to Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League, the commission states: “We do not think the operation of a secure school can be exclusively charitable.”

A commission spokesperson confirmed concerns to CYP Now, saying: “While we do not wish to stand in the way of any initiative that could have a positive contribution on the youth justice system, the commission’s role is to ensure that charity can thrive and inspire trust, and a critical part of that is ensuring that only those organisations which meet the strict test for charitable status can benefit from the privilege it brings.”

The spokesperson added that the commission was in talks with the Ministry of Justice and Oasis over the project.

They said: “As this is an active case, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

Crook said that in her view the commission’s stance left the MoJ with “very little option” but to set up an independent company to run the proposed school or find an existing company to do so.

“Both Oasis and the MoJ have said there are delays around the creation of the secure school due to ‘regulatory issues’ but in reality, as a charitable organisation, it seems Oasis are unable to carry on with the contract to run it.

“The MoJ could be left with the option to create an independent company to run the secure school or use an existing one like we see at the moment with Serco or G4S,” said Crook.

“But, then are we not just left with another prison on the site of an existing prison? I cannot see how it can be any different,” she added.

Carolyne Willow, director of children’s rights charity Article 39, agreed with the Charity Commission’s view and said: “Punishment is not a charitable purpose under the Charities Act 2011, so I can see why Oasis Charitable Trust is coming under scrutiny in seeking to run a place of detention under the criminal justice system.”

Willow renewed criticism over the exclusion of local authorities from the tendering process and said “the most child-centred, strategic way forward would be for the government to reformulate its secure school plan so that it builds capacity within the secure children’s homes sector”.

“There is an urgent need for secure accommodation places for children in England, as demonstrated by the stream of excoriating comments from family court judges," Willow added.

“The expertise in running secure children’s homes lies within local authority children’s services and it’s this capacity that desperately needs to be built up for children who cannot live safely within the community, whether this has been determined by the family or criminal courts.”

The MoJ refused to comment on the issue saying they had “nothing to add” following a statement made in November last year when it emerged plans to open the school had been delayed and a new time scale would be confirmed "in due course".

"We are working with Oasis, and our other partners - the Department for Education and NHS - to bring forward a revised timetable as soon as possible," the spokesman said.

"A number of complex issues have taken longer to resolve than originally anticipated and we are working with all partners to resolve these."

Responding to the latest developments, Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, said: “Oasis is excited to be given the opportunity of developing and opening the UK's first secure school. We believe that this innovative and much-needed holistic and therapeutic provision for children in the custodial system is precisely what is needed to offer opportunity and hope to these young people."