Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of prisoners are diagnosed with mental health conditions by region.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the mental health population by region and as a percentage of the prison population:
Regions | Percentage |
East Midlands | 8% |
East of England | 8% |
London | 7% |
North East and Yorkshire | 7% |
North West | 8% |
South East | 8% |
South West | 7% |
West Midlands | 8% |
Grand Total | 8% |
Source: NHS England.
These figures are for severe and enduring mental health conditions such as bipolar and schizophrenia, and do not include conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
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 help ensure that healthcare treatment provided to prisoners with mental health conditions is adequate.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Prison Mental Healthcare service specification reinforces that prison healthcare, including care for people with mental health problems, should provide excellent, safe, and effective services and interventions to all prisoners, equivalent to the services and interventions available in the community.
It specifies that there should be access to suitable, evidence-based psychological and clinical interventions. The provision of specific clinical interventions should be determined according to appropriate clinical guidance. Accordingly, the service specification is not prescriptive as to the specific mix of psychological therapies which should be provided, with the aim of ensuring a personalised approached is utilised when meeting individual needs.
NHS England is in the process of reviewing and refreshing the Prison Mental Healthcare service specification. The aim of this review is to ensure that high-quality mental health care is provided to patients in prison, and that the specification is current and fit for purpose, taking account of changing patient needs and developments in health and justice and the wider National Health Service.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to return NHS Trusts to pre-pandemic procurement practices.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Guidance on how contracting authorities, including National Health Service trusts, should respond to the COVID-19 pandemic was published in March 2020 and February 2021, reminding them of the options available when undertaking procurements in an emergency. These two guidance documents are available, respectively, at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0120-responding-to-covid-19
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0121-procurement-in-an-emergency
Authorities are allowed to procure goods, services, and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances, using regulation 32(2)(c) under the Public Contract Regulations 2015. These include a direct award under which authorities may enter into contracts without competing or advertising the requirement.
Contracting authorities assess the market conditions for procuring supplies related to any procurement, in accordance with procurement guidance and regulations. Where any procurement meets the tests for the use of Regulation 32(2)(c) for the direct awarding of a contract, then that approach can be used. However, where it doesn’t, other approaches will be considered.