Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure continuity of mental health care for people leaving prison.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Chief Medical Officer’s report on the health of people in prison, on probation and in the secure National Health Service estate in England was published on 6 November 2025 and we are carefully considering its findings and recommendations.

The Department is committed to working with health and justice partners to support the continuity of mental health care for people leaving prison. This includes supporting prison leavers who have engaged in treatment while in custody to continue to access services in the community.

One service available is RECONNECT, which provides a care after custody service designed to improve the continuity of care for people leaving prison or an immigration removal centre who have an identified health need. The service works with individuals before release to support their transition to community-based services, helping to safeguard health gains made while in custody.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103561 on Anti-social Behaviour, what steps her Department is taking to tackle barriers faced by county councils in using (a) closure notices and (b) closure orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 in areas where district councils exist.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Referring to the response to question 103561, county councils may already issue a closure notice and apply directly for closure orders in England and Wales providing that there is no district council in the area. Where there is a district council in the area, the county council would be expected to work with the relevant district council to issue the closure notice. Closure orders are made by Magistrates courts, not local councils.

We are taking steps, through the Crime and Policing Bill, to enhance the closure power. We are extending the timeframe that relevant agencies can apply to a magistrates’ court for a closure order from 48 hours after service of a closure notice to 72 hours. This will give agencies more time to progress an application for a closure order, protecting the victim and community in the interim while a closure order is sought.

We are also extending the power to issue closure notices to registered social housing providers. Currently only local authorities and police can issue closure notices. This is despite registered social housing providers often being the first agency to be aware of the ASB in question. Extending this power to social housing providers helps ensure that the right agencies have the right tools to tackle ASB quickly and effectively, saving police and local authorities time as housing providers will be able to make applications directly.

Found: Norfolk) Jayne Kirkham (Labour; Truro and Falmouth) Josh Newbury (Labour; Cannock Chase) Jenny Riddell-Carpenter