Warning over cutting secure youth places

UNION leaders have warned the Scottish Government against cutting secure accommodation for young people in a bid to save money.

Communities Minister Fergus Ewing has announced a review after figures showed demand for secure places across Scotland was less than predicted and there was now spare capacity in the system.

But Unison, which represents staff working in child protection, said the government should plan for the long term and some slack was needed in the system.

And John Stevenson, city council branch president of Unison, said any move to close secure units elsewhere could put more pressure on Edinburgh's secure places at Howdenhall and St Katherine's.

He warned that national trends could change unexpectedly, as had happened in the mid-1990s.