Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Final report of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983, published on 6 December 2018, what steps his Department plans to take in respect of the recommendation that the Government should encourage ongoing work to explore how the use of restraint by police is reduced when supporting people experiencing mental distress.

The Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody is overseeing work to consider whether there are alternatives to police use of prolonged physical restraint that could increase detainee safety, especially in the context of mental health crises. This work is being undertaken in consultation with police and healthcare partners.

Alongside this, the College of Policing will publish evidence based guidelines on ‘Safer Resolution’ early next year. These guidelines will provide recommendations to police forces on how they can develop de-escalation training to reduce the likelihood that officers will need to use restraint to resolve issues.

The College is also working with police forces to develop and pilot de-escalation training in the new financial year which will help to strengthen the evidence base for effective de-escalation training.