Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Deferred
Set out detailed plans for the 500 new female prison places, including modelling.
Recommendation
The Committee notes the concerns raised by witnesses that the commitment to build 500 prison places in the female estate appears at odds with the aims of the Female Offender Strategy. However, we also recognise that the 500 additional prison places have the potential to improve custodial conditions for those who are imprisoned, as well as going some way towards achieving the Strategy’s aim of making the female estate more trauma informed. We would welcome further clarity on the Government’s plans for the 500 places. The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS should set out: • A breakdown of how the 500 prison places will be used. For example, how many places will be allocated as open prison places; how many places will be allocated to replace old for new prison places and how many will be entirely new places in the closed estate; • How many old prison places in the female estate have been decommissioned since the announcement of 500 new places, and how many it anticipates will be decommissioned in the coming years; • How many new prison places have already been built, and what the timeline is for completing the construction of the remaining places; and • The modelling the MoJ and HMPPS undertook to determine that 500 places were needed. (Paragraph 102) Women in Prison 77
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation but responded by detailing reforms in the draft Mental Health Bill to prevent prisons from being used as a place of safety and enable direct transfer to therapeutic settings, rather than clarifying plans for 500 new prison places.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
NHSE We accept this recommendation. The draft Mental Health Bill, published for pre-legislative scrutiny on 27th June, includes reforms to prevent courts from using prison as a place of safety. This means that defendants and convicted people awaiting an assessment or treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983 will be transferred directly to a therapeutic setting. The draft Bill also includes reforms to the Bail Act 1976 to prevent defendants being remanded to custody for their own protection, solely on the grounds of mental health. MoJ has established a cross-agency working group to develop and deliver a clear implementation plan to safely operationalise these changes and ensure that those who are acutely unwell can access the care they need more swiftly.