Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve continuity of care for prisoners released while they are undergoing drug treatment services.

It is vitally important that all prisoners and prison leavers with a substance dependency continue treatment on release and have access to timely and high-quality drug treatment services to recover from the misuse that drives offending. We work closely with health and justice partners through the Adult National Partnership Agreement published on 23 February 2023, one of the goals of which is support access to, and continuity of care throughout the prison estate and into the community.

As part of the Cross-Government Drug Strategy, we are investing up to £120m over the next three-years to keep drugs out of prisons and get offenders off drugs and into recovery. Our work includes focusing on prison “in-reach” by providing prisoners with the opportunity to engage with community treatment pre-release via video calling and recruiting Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between prison and local treatment services, ensuring continuity of care upon release.