Prisons: Mental Health Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to provide adequate mental health support for prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences.
Answered by Sir Nicholas Dakin
It is right that Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences were abolished. We are committed to working at pace to support the progression of all those serving the IPP sentence, but not in a way that undermines public protection.
We are committed to improving outcomes for offenders with mental health needs, including IPP prisoners, and recognise the importance of providing the right interventions at the right time.
This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England which was published in 2023 and which sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care for offenders in prison and the community.
Health and justice partners have committed to providing an equivalent standard, range and quality of healthcare in prisons to that available in the community. If a prisoner has a severe mental health need to an extent that detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 may be appropriate, they will be referred and assessed by qualified clinicians to determine whether to transfer to a mental health hospital is warranted.
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