Holyrood’s justice committee is seeking answers over the decision to move a 17-year-old boy from a secure children’s unit to a young offenders institution where he took his own life.
Jonathan Beadle died at Young Offenders Institution Polmont in Falkirk on Saturday – two years after the Scottish government pledged to stop sending under-18s to the facility.
Young people aged 16 and 17 should be placed in secure accommodation rather than young offender institutions (YOIs) under the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act, which came into force last month.
Sky News understands the teenager had pleaded guilty to a charge of acting in a disorderly manner and being in possession of weapons with intent to assault and murder a 16-year-old girl.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) – which is mandatory for all deaths in custody – will later be held to examine the circumstances.
SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll, convener of the criminal justice committee, has written to victims and community safety minister Siobhian Brown.
The committee is seeking an explanation as to why Mr Beadle was sent to YOI Polmont, as well as timescales on the full implementation of the new law.
Ms Nicoll said the committee had been “concerned with deaths in custody for some time now, especially those relating to young people”.
She added: “I recognise that the death of Mr Beadle will be the subject of an FAI in due course.
“In the meantime, I would be grateful for details of the timeline in this case and the circumstances that led to the decision to move Mr Beadle from secure care to HMP & YOI Polmont.
“I would also be grateful for an update on the timescales for the implementation of sections 16 to 18 of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act and the reasons why these remain to be enacted.”
A copy of the letter was also sent to Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons, and Teresa Medhurst, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).
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This latest incident comes ahead of the findings of fatal accident inquiries into the deaths of three other young people at Polmont.
An inquiry was held recently into the deaths of William Lindsay, 16, and Katie Allan, 21, who both took their own lives in separate incidents within months of each other in 2018.
A separate inquiry has also been held into the death of Jack McKenzie, 20, who is reported to have taken his own life in September 2021.
In March 2022, the Scottish government vowed to end the placement of 16 and 17-year-olds in YOIs.
It was part of a plan containing 80 actions to “improve the lives of children, young people and families in and around the edges of care”.
Then minister for children Clare Haughey said the move would be made “without delay”, with “care-based alternatives” to shift the approach from “one of punishment to one of love and support”.
The Scottish government said the act “aims to end the placement of under-18s in young offenders institutions, with secure accommodation being the normal place of detention instead”.
However, a spokesperson said: “The decision on whether to detain a child remains with the independent judiciary.
“On turning 18, young people who have a significant part of their sentence still to serve will be transferred to prison.”
Victims and community safety minister Ms Brown added: “The Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act, which received royal assent on 4 June, includes provisions to end the placement of under-18s in young offenders institutions.
“Plans are moving at pace to ensure commencement of these provisions as soon as possible.
“There is also ongoing engagement with partners, including SPS and secure care providers, to enable the transfer of those currently in Polmont in line with commencement of the provisions.”