Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those remanded in custody for more than six months receive access to (a) education, (b) work and (c) mental health support.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that individuals held in custody, including those on remand, have access to appropriate rehabilitative, educational, and wellbeing support while in prison.

Remand prisoners are eligible to access the core education provision available in prisons. This may include literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages, basic digital skills, and library services. On arrival, all prisoners undergo initial screening for learning needs and receive an individual Learning and Work Plan to support progression. Governors must ensure that education is available to all prisoners who can benefit, in line with Prison Rule 32, and remand prisoners are encouraged to participate in these opportunities. In addition to education, remand prisoners can take part in work related activities where they wish to and where operationally feasible. These activities provide purposeful engagement and help maintain routine and structure during custody.

Together with our health partners, we are committed to ensuring that people in prison have access to an equivalent standard, range and quality of health care in prisons to that available in the wider community. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England. All people in prison, including those held on remand, have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison as set out in the national service specification for mental health care in prisons.

For prisoners with severe mental health needs, the Mental Health Act received Royal Assent earlier this month and contains several flagship reforms to improve access to mental health care and treatment, including, but not limited to, provisions to:

• Introduce a new statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison and other places of detention to hospital to reduce unnecessary delays experienced by prisoners who require mental health treatment.

• Stop courts temporarily detaining people with severe mental illness in prison as a ‘place of safety’ whilst awaiting a hospital bed for treatment or assessment under the Mental Health Act; and

• End the use of remand for own protection under the Bail Act where the court’s sole concern is the defendant’s mental health.

We will implement these reforms as soon as it is safe to do so.