Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the use of police vehicles as places of safety for people with mental heath conditions, in the context of police and prison cells no longer being used to place people experiencing a mental health crisis.

The Mental Health Act’s Code of Practice states that local organisations are expected to have clear arrangements in place to support individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. This includes the development of a policy which identifies specific places of safety.

These places of safety should be hospitals or health-based facilities where appropriate mental health services are provided.

Other options might, however, be appropriate, such as the home of a relative or of a friend of the person who is willing to accept them, or a residential care home. These settings might provide a more immediate and more suitable setting for the individual.

A police vehicle would not be an appropriate place to hold a person who is in need of specialist mental health support.