Administration of Justice and 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, if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of any pilot projects undertaken by his Department on the use of mindfulness-based therapies in prisons and the justice system.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 9th September 2019

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.

Reticulating Splines