Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improving continuity of care for repeat offenders as they move between prison and the community.

We recognise that the first few weeks after release for prison leavers are high-risk for relapse, overdose and reoffending, and we are determined to ensure prison leavers have a smooth transition into the community, with swift access to care and treatment to address this.

Lord Timpson, the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending continues to engage with Baroness Merron and Minister Dalton, Minister for Public Health and Prevention in the Department for Health and Social Care, to discuss issues related to offender health and care and drive progress forward. The Drug and Alcohol Recovery Expert Panel (DAREP), chaired by Lord Timpson, was established to identify key areas for improvement in our current approach to tackling problematic drug and alcohol use in the criminal justice system in England and Wales, including consideration of continuity of care and resettlement. Minister Dalton is part of DAREP’s core membership.

Working closely with health partners, we have recruited over 50 Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators. These staff operate nationwide to strengthen links between prison, probation and treatment providers. NHS England’s RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with vulnerabilities to engage with the right health services in the community through referrals and peer support. We are also improving information sharing between treatment providers and probation and enabling virtual pre-release appointments with community treatment providers via secure laptops.