Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14 to 17, (b) 18 to 25 and (c) 26 and older who enter police custody were screened for acquired brain injury in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Police custody officers should carry out an assessment of the risk and vulnerability of everyone in custody, on an individual basis. This assessment should take into account the person’s behaviour, any signs of illness or injury, their communication, including information from all available sources and the circumstances and environment in which they were found.

In accordance with Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Code C paragraph 9.5, the custody officer must make sure that a detainee receives appropriate clinical attention as soon as reasonably practicable if the person: appears to be suffering from physical illness, is injured, appears to be suffering from a mental disorder or appears to need clinical attention.

The Home Office does not issue guidance on custody healthcare. NHS England continue to support national policing by offering specialist support to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) custodial healthcare portfolio, which also includes the authoring and maintaining of the Police custodial healthcare service specification.

Data on the proportion of people in custody screened for or found to have an acquired brain injury is not held.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on detentions in police custody, including age and whether an adult was vulnerable.

The most recent data, for the year ending March 2023, is available here: Other PACE powers, year ending March 2023 (second edition) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)