Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the treatment of prisoners with mental health conditions, and in particular to increase the number of staff available to escort them to treatment.

NHS England’s national specifications for prison health services are improving standards of mental health services across all prisons in England. Clear commissioning models, focusing on outcomes specific to custodial settings for improving mental health, include improving the provision of support for common mental health conditions within the prison, earlier identification of prisoners who require transfer to secure hospitals and effective communication and planning with secure hospitals to enable safe transfer.

NHS England is working closely with the National Offender Management Service to consider the demand for escorts and identify options for improvement.