Select committee: Justice Committee
Recommendation 14
5th Report - Ageing prison population
Published 27 Jul 2020
Paragraph 96
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Ageing prison population All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The ageing prison population has and will continue to increase the need for end-of- life and palliative care in prisons. We welcome the publication of the Dying Well in Custody Charter and the good practice at some establishments. But standards are not consistent across the estate. In addition, as mentioned previously, we recognise that there has been delay in providing justice for the victims of some prisoners. Again, attention must be given to the needs of the victims of those crimes. The MoJ must ensure that provision of end-of-life and palliative care is properly resourced and coordinated to reflect the current and future needs of the prison population. The MoJ should also review whether, in certain circumstances, terminally ill prisoners nearing the end of their lives would be better cared for outside of the prison estate and how effectively current arrangements for compassionate release are operating in practice.
From: Justice Committee, 5th Report - Ageing prison population (HC 304), paragraph 96, 27 July 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 November 2020 (deadline 27 September 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it recognises the report's themes, has commissioned an older offenders strategy as recommended, and, because that strategy is in development, is "not yet in a position to answer each of your recommendations fully".
- On the national strategy, the government says "We agree that now is the time to produce a national strategy for older offenders", has "commenced work" and will write to the Committee once the strategy is published.
- On accommodation, the government is "considering models for accommodating older offenders as part of the older offenders strategy" and will update further once it is published. It says it will outline its long-term estates plans towards the end of the year and consult the Committee early next year.
- On projections, the government says updated prison population projections are "now due to be published on the 26th November" and will factor in additional police officers and recent sentencing policy changes.
- On telemedicine, NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with HMPPS, and approved software and equipment "has now been procured and rolled out in all English prisons".