Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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The US corporation locking up British youth
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THANKS to British governments copying the ugly US-plan of jail privatisation, a multinational corporation can make money out of miserable conditions on two continents.
Just before Christmas three regulators demanded “urgent action” to improve grim conditions at the privately run Rainsbrook youth jail in Warwickshire. The poor treatment of the locked-up youngsters is not surprising, given the firm running the jail: the Management and Training Corporation (MTC) are also known for some shocking conditions in private jails in their native US.
On December 18, Ofsted, HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the Care Quality Commission jointly issued what they called a “rare urgent notification” obliging Tory Justice Secretary Robert Buckland to make improvements at Rainsbrook in 28 days. The three regulators said that Rainsbrook, a “secure training centre” for young offenders in Warwickshire, was a “spartan regime where children were given little encouragement to get up in the mornings or have any meaningful engagement with staff.”
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