Prisons: Mental Health Services
(asked on 3rd September 2019) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what use his Department has made of mindfulness-based therapy techniques in (a) improving well-being and (b) reducing recidivism in the prison population.
Mindfulness-based therapy techniques are used in prisons in England and Wales. A summary of evidence relating to the impact of mindfulness on people in prison and on probation has been published and can be found at the following link; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mindfulness-in-prison-and-probation In addition to this, HMPPS Wales commissioned 2 studies in 2016 evaluating the impact of a mindfulness intervention at HMP Parc, Wales and within the National Probation Service Wales. Both staff and offenders took part in these studies. The research was led by Swansea University and the full reports, alongside a report from findings in the community, will be published later this year. |
Our work on mindfulness is just part of our efforts to reduce recidivism and improve the prison estate. Over the past 3 years, we have invested £100m to provide additional Prison Officers to improve frontline safety, security and rehabilitation.