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Mentally Disordered Offenders: Prisoners' Release

Asked by Kim JohnsonLabourMinistry of JusticeTabled Answered 8 September 2026UIN 26664

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people (a) serving, and (b) not serving an IPP sentence have been detained under the Section 47/49 pathway before release from prison, since 2016.

Answered by Ministry of Justice

Section 47/49 of the Mental Health Act (1983) allows for the transfer of a serving prisoners to psychiatric hospital, where the statutory criteria for transfer under the Act are met. The specific information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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