Mental Health in Prison

Justice Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 20 Apr 2021 Closed: 1 Jun 2022 Parliament page
This inquiry seeks to understand the current scale of mental health need in prisons, and to identify what support exists and whether there are any gaps in provision. Read the terms of reference to find out more about the inquiry .
12 Recommendations
21 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Events
Activity timeline 4 events
4 Feb
2022
Report published
29 Sep
2021
Report published
22 Jun
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
8 Jun
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting
Title HC No. Published Items Response
5th Report - Mental health in prison HC 72 29 Sep 2021 33 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
21 Recommendation Accepted in Part
5th Report - Mental health in pris…
Increase immediate availability of mental health inpatient beds for prisoners facing transfer difficulties.
The Ministry of Justice should work with the Department for Health and Social Care and the NHS to increase immediately the availability of mental health inpatient beds for prisoners from those prisons that have the most difficulty transferring prisoners within … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges delays in transfers and is implementing revised guidance, committing to a 28-day statutory time limit for transfers once guidance is embedded. They also cite investment in community mental health services and the NHS Long Term Plan aiming to improve overall access to inpatient services.
Ministry of Justice
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22 Recommendation Accepted in Part
5th Report - Mental health in pris…
Publish monthly data on prisoners awaiting mental health inpatient transfers, including waiting times.
HMPPS and the NHS should gather and publish monthly information for every establishment (without naming establishments to protect patient confidentiality) on the number of prisoners awaiting transfers to inpatient care for mental illness and for how long they have been … Read more
Government Response
The government states they already gather and monitor monthly data on transfers, using it to address delays, but explicitly rejects publishing this data publicly due to patient confidentiality concerns.
Ministry of Justice
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29 Recommendation Accepted in Part
5th Report - Mental health in pris…
Learning from RECONNECT pathfinders and partnership pilots needs swift acceleration and publication.
The NHS should learn early lessons swiftly from its RECONNECT pathfinder projects and accelerate roll-out of the most important features across all prisons in the interim between now and 2024 when it intends to have completed the full roll-out. Similarly, … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms a 'Lessons Learned' exercise for RECONNECT pathfinders has been done and a full evaluation is commissioned. For Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators, a process evaluation is underway with a report due Autumn 2022, and expansion to all probation regions is intended by 2024/25.
Ministry of Justice
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Government Response AI assessment · 33 of 12 classified
Accepted 15
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 11
Total 12 recs + 21 conclusions