Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answers of 3 July 2020 to Questions 61685 and 61686 on Prisoners' Transfers: Mentally Disordered Offenders, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on transfer times for prisoners to secure hospitals for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Prisoners eligible for transfer to National Health Service psychiatric units should be moved out of prison as quickly as possible.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working to revise the Department’s good practice guidance (2011) ‘Transfer and remission of adult prisoners under the Mental Health Act 1983 good practice guidance 2019’. The aim is to facilitate timely access to appropriate treatment under the Mental Health Act and reduce unnecessary delays based on clinical need.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have undertaken extensive public consultation on revisions to the guidance and had planned to publish the final version by spring 2020. The publication process has been delayed to the COVID-19 pandemic but NHS England and NHS Improvement intend to proceed towards publication as quickly as possible.