ALBA Westminster Group Leader and MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Neale Hanvey, is drawing attention to the alarming practice of secure transportation providers restraining and handcuffing vulnerable children in the UK’s care system.

At a special event in Parliament this week, Neale Hanvey pledged support for the Hope instead of Handcuffs campaign, which was launched to end the handcuffing of care-experienced children or young people while being securely transported by private providers.

These providers are regularly hired by local authorities to transport children and young people between care placements, or to take them to school, hospital or other settings. Shockingly, many of these providers use restraints, including handcuffs, on these children and some even advertise the use of handcuffs on their website. Restraint in other parts of the care system is heavily regulated, but children and young people are not covered by the same protections when they are in the care of secure transportation providers.

 

Whilst the Care Inspectorate has the power to inspect any instances of restraint in children’s homes, the regulator cannot inspect the restraint practices of secure transportation providers. Similarly in secure accommodation, it is expected that all restraints will be recorded. Worryingly, this is not the case when it comes to restraint during secure transportation,

The Hope instead of Handcuffs campaign is calling for changes to regulations to:,

Mandate that all private secure transportation providers be legally obliged to report any instances of restraint, including handcuffing, of innocent care-experienced children to an appropriate body

Appoint an appropriate body to collect, monitor and review data provided by these private secure transport providers to increase transparency and accountability.

Ultimately, end the handcuffing and restraint of innocent children by private secure transportation providers except when there is a considerable risk of the child harming themselves or others.

Recognise that a new, child-centred approach is needed that treats vulnerable children as victims instead of criminals, and ensures that secure transportation providers in the UK’s care system do not contribute to further trauma.

Neale Hanvey MP said:

“No child or young person should be placed in handcuffs or subject to similar forms of restraint where they have not committed or been suspected of committing a crime. This concerning gap in regulations needs to be addressed if we are to better understand what really happens to children and young people while being securely transported. That is why I am calling on Humza Yousaf to instruct his officials to review the practice of independent transportation providers restraining children in Scotland and to introduce a legal obligation on these providers to record and report the use of handcuffs in all instances to the appropriate authoritie

“I support the Hope instead of Handcuffs campaign’s efforts to bring regulations in this area in line with other parts of the care system, and to ultimately end this brutal practice.”

 

Campaign founder Emily Aklan said:

 

“I launched the Hope instead of Handcuffs campaign after witnessing first-hand children as young as eleven being handcuffed by secure transportation providers. We need a more transparent and accountable system that will allow us to monitor how many children are restrained during secure transportation, scrutinise why restraint is being used and ultimately end the practice.”