Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure prisoners with severe mental health needs in Category C prisons receive timely access to appropriate care.

NHS England commissions comprehensive healthcare services across all prisons in England, ensuring mental health provision is delivered to the principle of equivalence with community services. The National Service Specification for Integrated Mental Health outlines expectations and ensures that individuals have access to appropriate support from the point of entry into custody and throughout their sentence.

More specifically, mental health support is available to all people in prison at any stage of their sentence; providers must deliver a full range of appointments, including urgent mental health assessments where clinically required; health needs assessments are undertaken in each establishment to understand population‑specific mental health needs; and services are trauma informed.

NHS England is currently undertaking a review of the National Integrated Prison Service Specification to ensure it remains responsive to the evolving needs of the prison population and continues to support high‑quality, trauma‑informed, and integrated mental health provision.