Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce a pilot to trial screening for traumatic brain injuries on entry into prison.

NHS England has commissioned liaison and diversion services in custody suites and courts aimed at identifying those who are vulnerable. It is anticipated that by 2020-21, that service will cover the whole of England.

All children and young people within the secure estate are screened for brain injury through the comprehensive health assessment tool.

The NHS England prison health care national standards service specification requires providers to screen individuals where it is suspected that they may have an acquired brain injury. If an adult prisoner presents with a significant brain injury, a specialist neurological referral is made.

There are specific diagnostics for those whose presentations suggest a cause for concern. Where individuals so assessed are then sentenced to custody, this information will be passed to the escorts for prison reception.