Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Prisoners: Mental Health

Tuesday 18 October 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government published the draft Mental Health Bill in June to support people with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system.
  • The draft Mental Health Bill aims to speed up access to specialist in-patient care and treatment for prisoners with serious mental illness.
  • The Ministry of Justice is collaborating with NHS England on projects like RECONNECT and rolling out community sentence treatment requirements, including mental health treatment, to every court in England by the end of 2024.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Laurence Robertson Con
Justice & Courts Mental Health
Context

No specific event prompted this question, but it focuses on the recent steps taken by the Department to support prisoner mental health.

Question

What recent steps has his Department taken to help support the mental health of prisoners?

Answer from Rob Butler

The Government published the draft Mental Health Bill in June, which is now subject to pre-legislative scrutiny. It includes reforms to support people with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system by speeding up access to specialist in-patient care and treatment, and aims to end the use of prison as a place of safety. The Bill will introduce a new statutory time limit of 28 days for transfers from prison to hospital.

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Q2 Laurence Robertson Con
Justice & Courts Mental Health
Context

The MP notes that a significant percentage of prisoners have mental health issues, possibly leading them to prison. He asks if the Ministry will collaborate more closely with relevant departments.

Question

A high percentage of prisoners have mental health problems; they may end up in prison due to these issues. Will the Ministry of Justice work more closely with the Department of Health and Social Care for better mental health services?

Answer from Rob Butler

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; we are working very closely with NHS England. For example, through the RECONNECT project and rolling out community sentence treatment requirements, including mental health treatment, by the end of 2024 to every court in England.

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