Janner asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young men at the punishment centre within the borstal system at Reading which was run on military lines and closed down in about 1967 committed suicide and how many attempted to commit suicide; and what account of this experiment was taken in the formulation of the present policy of tougher régimes at selected detention centres.

The Reading borstal, which combined the functions of a recall centre and a correction centre, was not run on military lines nor was it an experiment. The experiences at Reading are being taken into account in devising the more rigorous régimes for the pilot scheme. Information is not readily available about suicides and attempted suicides at Reading.