Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to better identify prisoners who require mental health services.

The Basic Custody Screening Tool is an initial questionnaire that is used by the offender management unit within 72 hours of entry into prison and can identify prisoners suitable for referral to mental health services. The information recorded here is not designed to make a clinical assessment of mental health need.

New prisoners are also assessed by healthcare staff on their reception into prison in order to ascertain what urgent needs they may have to keep them safe in their first hours in custody. Every prisoner who is screened as requiring further mental health support will then be referred to the mental health team within the establishment.

Prisoners also receive a further comprehensive assessment within 72 hours which would prompt further assessments or urgent treatment for any physical health, mental health and/or substance misuse needs. Prisoners will then have a second-stage assessment within seven days of their reception, which will assess their needs in more detail.

NHS England is currently working across the entire criminal justice pathway to improve services for offenders with mental health difficulties. In line with the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, and the Strategic Direction for Health and Justice, NHS England is working with partners to intervene at the earliest opportunity to ensure that offenders receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. These specific mental health services will be available to prisoners across the estate where assessment identifies treatment needs.