Recommendation 13

HM Government · verbatim extract Deferred

We accept this recommendation. A lack of release date should not mean that remanded individuals are deprioritised for services such as mental health assessments, drug treatment, training and employment opportunities. In relation to mental health, the draft Mental Health Bill, published in June 2022, includes several vital reforms to support people with serious mental health needs in the criminal justice system, including those held on remand. These reforms will speed up access to specialist in-patient care and treatment by ending the use of prison as a ‘place of safety’ and establishing a new statutory time limit of 28-days for transfers from prison to hospital. The Bill also sets out reforms to the Bail Act 1976 which will prevent courts from remanding defendants for their own protection solely on mental health grounds. Healthcare, including mental health services, in prisons in England and Wales is the responsibility of NHS England and NHS Wales. HMPPS is responsible for enabling prisoner access to healthcare services. For people who are admitted to prison the care they receive is commissioned on the basis of equivalence with services in the community and people will be referred by healthcare teams for the health interventions they need whilst in prison, regardless of status. On release, whether this is to court or to the community, medicines or a prescription are provided in line with NHS community commissioned services and standards. In relation to drug treatment, we work closely with the NHS, Department for Health and Social Care and the Welsh Government to ensure all prisoners, including those on remand, have access to a full range of high-quality treatment. All prisoners receive a health screening on arrival in custody, including remand prisoners. This enables us to identify substance misuse needs quickly and refer into appropriate treatment. As part of the landmark Drugs Strategy, MoJ is investing up to £120m to support more offenders into treatment. This includes recruiting up to 50 drug strategy leads in all male category C and women’s prisons, who will coordinate a whole system approach to drugs which will benefit all prisoners. We are also supplying life-saving naloxone medication to staff in prisons, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Alongside this, we are investing in prison security to ensure all prisons have a zero- tolerance approach to drugs. The Government’s £100m Security Investment Programme, completed in March 2022, introduced measures such as X-ray body scanners and airport- style gate security, to prevent drugs entering prisons in the first place. Remand prisoners are eligible to access education and training if they wish. The curriculum is based on the needs of learners and is flexible according to any changes in population profile. Education providers are managed through key performance indicators and service levels which do not disincentivise remand prisoners. On employment, prisoners on remand are also able to access advice and support on employment and claiming benefits from the Department for Work and Pension’s network of Prison Work Coaches. In addition, in 2022 HMPPS has been testing new initiatives designed to meet the specific needs of remand prisoners in HMP Wandsworth. This includes a short life-skills course to help people on remand develop communication and decision making skills, and dedicated staff to obtain ID for prisoners, build their employability skills and link them with employers. There is also a new team of remand peer mentors to support wellbeing and encourage engagement with the regime. We will review the findings from this project to consider future support for the remand cohort.