Recommendation 86

To enact such changes, witnesses told us about the “Community Sentence Treatment Requirement (CSTR) protocol” between the Ministry of Justice and HMPPS, on the one hand, and NHS England and Public Health England, on the other hand. 164 The protocol aimed to increase the use of CSTRs and to introduce new primary Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs). NHS England told us that the new approach was launched in Milton Keynes in 2014 and later extended to four more areas in 2017 and 2018. They added that it involves £12 million of funding per year and was covering 65% of criminal courts as of May 2023. 165 We heard that “this pilot programme recognises that mental health and substance use are prevalent issues among offenders” and that “suitable community requirements have been significantly underused”. 166 HMPPS told us that the protocol “focused on strengthening local arrangements to improve joint work across substance misuse and mental health services” and “worked to promote the use of CSTRs with probation staff and sentencers”. They told us that “the roll out of new MHTRs is on track to achieve coverage in 100% of English courts by 2024” and that “one site has been established in Wales”. 167 Since 2018, “about 2,500 people” have already received mental health treatment thanks to the new approach, Justin Russell told us. 168