Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to implement a screening tool for neurodiversity, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, in prisons in response to the inconsistent prison screening provision highlighted in the Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice Sector report published in July 2021.

In response to the Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System: A review of the evidence report, the Ministry of Justice is currently drafting an action plan, which we will publish.

As part of this plan, the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service are currently undertaking work to establish what data on neurodivergence is currently collected and shared across the Criminal Justice system and how this can be improved. This includes consideration of a number of different screening tool options to indicate likelihood of neurodivergent traits including traits associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.