Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure greater collaboration between adult social care and the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Greater collaboration between adult social care and the National Health Service is a priority for the Government. Adult social care is a central part of our commitment to developing a Neighbourhood Health Service that shifts care from hospitals to communities, with more personalised, proactive, and joined-up health and care services that help people stay independent for as long as possible. In 2025/26, approximately £9 billion is being invested through the Better Care Fund to enable NHS bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care.
Starting in the financial year 2026/27, we will reform the Better Care Fund. This reform will provide a sharper focus on ensuring consistent joint NHS and local authority funding for those services that are essential for integrated health and social care, such as hospital discharge, intermediate care, rehabilitation and reablement. We will set out further details in due course.
We also provide improvement support to local systems to help them strengthen the delivery of integrated health and social care. This includes the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme and also work with the Local Government Association to deliver targeted and universal support to local systems through the Better Care Fund Support Fund. Information on these can be found respectively on the Neighbourhood Health and the Local Government Association websites.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to extend independent prescribing responsibilities to occupational therapists.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We support the expansion of non-medical professional groups being able to use legal mechanisms to prescribe, supply, and administer medicines to patients where it is safe to do so. There is a robust process in place for making such changes to ensure they are safe and beneficial for patients.
We are considering requests for the extension of existing medicines responsibilities and recently concluded a consultation on proposals to extend the medicines responsibilities of four professions. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish (1) the NHS workforce plan, and (2) the social care workforce plan.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026.
This plan will set out action to create an NHS workforce able to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It is important we do this in a robust and joined up way. We are therefore engaging extensively with partners to ensure this plan delivers for staff and patients.
Decisions regarding any potential publication for social care remain under consideration and no final position has been reached.
The Department is supporting the Adult Social Care workforce by improving terms and conditions through introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement, and supporting career development and progression by implementing the first ever career structure and investing up to £12 million in training and qualifications.
Baroness Casey’s independent commission into adult social care is underway as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The Terms of Reference have been designed to be sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system, and workforce, fit for the future.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what proportion of Parole Board recommendations to move prisoners (1) serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence, and (2) serving a life sentence, to open conditions were rejected in each month in 2025.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
For many years the Secretary of State has asked the independent Parole Board for advice on whether a prisoner serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) or a life sentence is suitable for transfer to open conditions. Where the Parole Board recommends that a prisoner is so suitable, the Secretary of State is not bound to accept the recommendation, and it is the Secretary of State who is ultimately responsible for determining whether a life or IPP prisoner is safe to be managed in an open prison.
The following tables provide the number and proportion of recommendations made by the Parole Board which were rejected in each month in 2025 for prisoners serving (1) an IPP sentence and (2) a life sentence.
Table 1: Outcomes of consideration of IPP open condition recommendations
Period considered | Accepted | Rejected | Total | % Rejected |
January 2025 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 17% |
February 2025 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 50% |
March 2025 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 25% |
Table 2: Outcomes of Consideration of life sentence open condition recommendations
Period considered | Accepted | Rejected | Total | % Rejected |
January 2025 | 19 | 7 | 26 | 27% |
February 2025 | 23 | 3 | 26 | 12% |
March 2025 | 23 | 3 | 26 | 12% |
Data have been provided for the period 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025 to align with the publication of the Parole Board’s data on recommendations for open conditions.
Public protection remains the priority and prisoners will only be approved for a move to open conditions if it is assessed that it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government on how many occasions pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA) incapacitant spray has been (1) drawn, and (2) drawn and deployed in prisons in 2024 and 2025; and what was the (a) ethnicity, (b) religion, and (c) disability status of the prisoner involved in each case.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data relating to the use of PAVA broken down by disability comes from internal management information that is under development. It is not quality assured and does not meet the standard required for publication.
The table below provides information on the use of PAVA broken down ethnicity and religion.
| 2024 | 2024 Total | 2025 | 2025 YTD Total* | |||
Drawn and used | Drawn not used | Drawn and used | Drawn not used | ||||
Ethnicity | Asian | 93 | 36 | 129 | 121 | 35 | 156 |
Black | 543 | 187 | 730 | 524 | 193 | 717 | |
Mixed | 166 | 65 | 231 | 159 | 71 | 230 | |
Other | 23 | 25 | 48 | 32 | 12 | 44 | |
White | 460 | 270 | 730 | 518 | 308 | 826 | |
White: Gypsy/Roma/Irish Traveller | 29 | 14 | 43 | 20 | 23 | 43 | |
Unknown | 17 | 3 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
Religion | Christian | 533 | 258 | 791 | 531 | 253 | 784 |
Muslim | 522 | 211 | 733 | 550 | 227 | 777 | |
No Religion | 219 | 103 | 322 | 241 | 123 | 364 | |
Other | 57 | 27 | 84 | 55 | 39 | 94 | |
Unknown | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Grand Total | 1,331 | 600 | 1,931 | 1,379 | 643 | 2,022 | |
Please note that the 2025 figures represent data to 30 November this year. Figures include each time a prisoner is impacted by a PAVA incident. This means each time PAVA is drawn and used/drawn not used, multiple prisoners may be counted. In addition, the same prisoner may be counted more than once if involved in multiple incidents.
Figures provided have been drawn from HMPPS Management Information which has not passed through the quality assurance processes usually associated with official statistics published on gov.uk and may contain incomplete or, on rare occasions, inaccurate data.
Pelargonic acid vanillylamide incapacitant (PAVA) spray is made available to protect staff and prisoners in the event of serious violence, or where there is an imminent risk of serious violence. Clear guidance has been issued to staff, to ensure it is used only where appropriate. Our hardworking prison officers are brave public servants doing exceptionally difficult jobs, this Government will do everything we can to keep them safe.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what proportion of people arriving into custody were assessed for additional support due to neurodiversity in each prison and Young Offender Institution in England over each of the last two years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 01 October 2025 we introduced a requirement and new tool for Governors to ensure all prisoners receive a screening for additional learning needs within 30 days of reception into custody. Young people entering the youth estate are screened within 10 days of arrival.
The new screening requirement built on an earlier process (since 2023) of carrying out an initial rapid screening for learning difficulties and/or disabilities and more in-depth screening which formed part of the initial education induction.
Data is collected and used locally, however, there is no routine centralised collection of validated data in relation to the numbers undertaking screening and assessment in either the adult estate or in Young Offender Institutions.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in prison or a Young Offender Institution self-describe their ethnicity as (1) black, (2) mixed-race, (3) Asian, and (4) white; and for each of these groups how many are aged (a) 15-17, (b) 18-20, (c) 21-24, (d) 25-29, (e) 30-39, (f) 40-49, (g) 50-59, (h) 60-69, and (i) 70 and over.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The answer to this question has been provided as an Excel document alongside this response.
The table provided was published as part of the Offender Management chapter of the 2024 ‘Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice System’ publication. (This series is published every other year.)
The figures presented are based on the total prison population and therefore include those held on remand, those sentenced and non-criminals.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, were detained in prisons as a place of safety in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to question HL12779 to Baroness Chakrabarti on 16 December 2025.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) males and (2) females, aged (a) 15 to 17, (b) 18 to 20, (c) 21 to 24, (d) 25 to 29, (e) 30 to 39, (f) 40 to 49, (g) 50 to 59, (h) 60 to 69, (i) 70 to 79 and (j) 80 and over, are currently in prison, categorised by offence.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The answer to this question has been provided as an attachment alongside this response. Table 1 contains the number of male prisoners broken down by alleged/proven offence groups and age bands, as at 30 September 2025, England and Wales. Table 2 contains the number of female prisoners broken down by alleged/proven offence groups and age bands, as at 30 September 2025, England and Wales.
The figures presented are based on the total prison population and therefore include those held on remand, those sentenced and non-criminals.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners are (1) eligible for support, and (2) receiving support, under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The eligibility criteria for Section 117 applies to those who have been discharged from hospital following detention under the Mental Health Act, including those who have been remitted to prison. This is to help meet their needs and reduce the risk of their mental health condition worsening, which could lead to another hospital admission. Where prisoners are remitted back to prison, their right to receive Section 117 aftercare should be dealt with in the same way as it would be in the community, apart from any provisions which do not apply in custodial settings, such as direct payments and choice of accommodation. We do not hold centralised data on the number of prisoners receiving support under Section 117.