Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support is available to former service personnel diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder who have been sentenced to prison.

Prisoners in England are entitled to receive NHS healthcare treatments equivalent to those received by people in the community.

NHS treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is provided according to clinical need and informed by best practice guidelines. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides detailed guidance (NICE Clinical Guideline 26) on treating PTSD, which NHS health professionals are expected to take into account when deciding best practice, or which treatment to provide. NICE Clinical Guideline 26 applies to prisoners and people in the community, including former service personnel.

A copy of NICE Clinical Guideline 26 has been placed in the Library.

All prisoners with a military history are eligible for the full range of interventions and services available in NOMS ‘Core Rehabilitative Offer’. In prison, Governors have responsibility for reviewing the needs of their population and planning appropriate services to meet those needs. In addition, armed services charities - including The Royal British Legion (TRBL), SSAFA, and Combat Stress - send caseworkers to support and work with ex-ASP in some prisons. These services will also be available to CRCs and the National Probation Service (NPS). The JustMentoring website, set up originally by NOMS and now managed by the charity Clinks, also actively promotes the work of these charities.