Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the review of Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice Sector published in July 2021, what steps his Department is taking to provide comprehensive treatment plans for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among people in the criminal justice system.

NHS England NHS Improvement has commissioned the Centre for Mental Health to conduct a mental health needs analysis in all English prisons. This is expected to provide a greater understanding of the mental health and neurodiverse needs of people in prison, including those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

NHS England and NHS Improvement is also working with Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service in the identification and roll out of a common screening tool, which will assist in identifying people with neurodiverse needs. Many of these will benefit from non-medical adjustments, while, for some, a diagnostic and treatment pathway will be indicated.

A scoping exercise to understand current treatment pathways is planned as part of the review and refresh of the prison mental health service specification, which will be evidence-based, informed by current best practice and reflect developments in the wider health system.