Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Phillip Lee and Eleanor Smith

Tuesday 23rd January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Eleanor Smith (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab)]

T6. Does the Minister believe that the funding gap in the NHS is having an impact on healthcare provision in our prisons?

[Dr Phillip Lee]

Healthcare in prisons was a priority for me when I took over in July 2016: it was the first thing I started to ask about. The Ministry of Justice now has a much closer relationship with the Department of Health with regard to the provision of healthcare. We have made advances in the transfer of patients’ information—when prisoners come in, their patient data follow them—which was a problem in the past. I am under no illusions about the healthcare challenges still faced within the prison system, and that is why I will continue to work actively with the Department of Health, which is ultimately the Department responsible for the provision of those services.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Phillip Lee and Eleanor Smith

Tuesday 31st October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Eleanor Smith (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab)]

12. What recent steps he has taken in response to the finding of the chief inspector of prisons that no young offender institution inspected in the last year was safe to hold juveniles.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Dr Phillip Lee)]

Improving safety and reducing the risk of serious incidents of violence and self-harm in youth custody are among my highest priorities, and we are committed to reforming custodial provision.

[Eleanor Smith]

Given that no prison is safe for children, that over a third of children in prison have diagnoses of mental health conditions and that nearly 70% of children sent to prison reoffend within a year of release, does the Minister believe that it is time to find an alternative to sending children to prison?

[Dr Lee]

I recognise that the recidivism rate of 69% is unacceptable, and that is why I am bringing forward two new secure schools, one in the north-west and one in the south-east of England. We recognise that we have a problem with the environment in the youth custodial estate; I have never hidden this from the House. The mental health issues are deep-seated. We are dealing with approximately 1,000 individuals who are locked up at any one time, and they can often be quite deeply damaged; I assure the hon. Lady that I am cognisant of that.