Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice of 31 March 2025 in the debate on the Report Stage of the Mental Health Bill, Official Report, House of Lords, col 103, when she plans to provide an update on the work of the health and justice strategic advisory group.

The mental health and justice strategic advisory group will be chaired by NHS England’s National Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity, and the group’s membership is still in the process of being confirmed.

The mental health and justice strategic advisory group has not yet started its work. The National Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity, along with senior leads in health and justice, specialised commissioning, and community mental health are in the process of agreeing the terms of reference for the group, and its first meeting is expected to take place in early July.

The Chair will provide a quarterly report on progress and impact to ministers in both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care, with the first report expected in the Autumn.