New Hall

We are committed to improving mental health outcomes for people in contact with the criminal justice system, which is why this Government introduced the long-awaited draft Mental Health Bill to parliament on 6 November 2024. The Bill includes several flagship reforms to improve access to mental health care for patients in the criminal justice system such as the introduction of a statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison to hospital. This time limit, together with operational improvements, aims to reduce unnecessary delays and deliver swifter access to treatment.To improve overall assessment and transfer lead times, NHS England is focussing on improving efficiency across the whole pathway such as ensuring appropriate lengths of stay, reducing transitions, and thereby improving throughput. This will make better use of existing capacity across the whole system, including the pathway to and from prison.

NHS England continues to commission a holistic trauma responsive healthcare service that meets the needs of the population at HMP/YOI New Hall. This service and model is continually under review and additional monies will be made available in line with the national Womens Review and the recommissioning of the service during the course of the financial year 2025/26. Whilst mental healthcare provision in prisons is the responsibility of NHS England, to support care for women in prisons, HMPPS has introduced gender-specific training for new prison officers and staff working with women which includes the impact of trauma. All prison staff receive suicide and self-harm prevention and mental health awareness training to increase skills in supporting prisoners in distress. Governors across the Women’s Estate have recently received Behind the Behaviour training, in advance of this being rolled out to wider staff groups. Behind the Behaviour training is designed to improve understanding of women’s behaviour in custody and develop skills to respond in ways which reduce challenging behaviour. The Women’s Offender Personality Disorder Pathway, as well as the Women’s Estate Psychology Services team, which provides forensic psychologists within all women’s prisons including HMP/YOI New Hall, continues to deliver therapeutic services for women in HMPPS care.

I appreciate the concerns that you have raised around the number of women at the establishment with significant mental health issues and the challenges that this poses within the prison environment.The draft Mental Health Bill, introduced to parliament on 6 November 2024 and referred to in the Ministerial response, includes reforms that will prevent courts from using prison as a place of safety for those awaiting treatment or assessment under the Mental Health Act. Instead, the defendant or convicted person must be transferred directly to hospital, ensuring swifter access to the care they need. The Bill will also reform the Bail Act 1976 to prevent courts from remanding a defendant for their own protection where their only concern relates to their mental health. Courts will be directed to commit defendants to bail and work with local health services to put in place appropriate support and care. NHS England (North East and Yorkshire region) recognise that some courts are using prisons as a place of safety. Consequently, they are supporting a member of staff from HM Courts and Tribunals Service to work as a link between the courts across the region to try to reduce the number of instances this occurs. This issue is also highlighted at a regular ‘escalation call’ and as part of their monthly Quality Reports for the NHS England Local Governance Group. Separately, and as mentioned in the Minister’s response above, the work of the Women’s Justice Board has begun and includes a clear remit to intervene earlier and divert women away from the criminal justice system where appropriate and therefore further reducing the use of prisons as a place of safety.

I appreciate the concerns that you have raised around the number of women at the establishment with significant mental health issues and the challenges that this poses within the prison environment. We are committed to improving mental health outcomes for people in contact with the criminal justice system, which is why this Government introduced the long-awaited draft Mental Health Bill to parliament on 6 November 2024. The Bill includes several flagship reforms to improve access to mental health care for patients in the criminal justice system such as the introduction of a statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison to hospital. This time limit, together with operational improvements, aims to reduce unnecessary delays and deliver swifter access to treatment.The draft Mental Health Bill, introduced to parliament on 6 November 2024 and referred to in the Ministerial response, includes reforms that will prevent courts from using prison as a place of safety for those awaiting treatment or assessment under the Mental Health Act. Instead, the defendant or convicted person must be transferred directly to hospital, ensuring swifter access to the care they need. The Bill will also reform the Bail Act 1976 to prevent courts from remanding a defendant for their own protection where their only concern relates to their mental health. Courts will be directed to commit defendants to bail and work with local health services to put in place appropriate support and care. NHS England (North East and Yorkshire region) recognise that some courts are using prisons as a place of safety. Consequently, they are supporting a member of staff from HM Courts and Tribunals Service to work as a link between the courts across the region to try to reduce the number of instances this occurs. This issue is also highlighted at a regular ‘escalation call’ and as part of their monthly Quality Reports for the NHS England Local Governance Group. Separately, and as mentioned in the Minister’s response above, the work of the Women’s Justice Board has begun and includes a clear remit to intervene earlier and divert women away from the criminal justice system where appropriate and therefore further reducing the use of prisons as a place of safety.To improve overall assessment and transfer lead times, NHS England is focussing on improving efficiency across the whole pathway such as ensuring appropriate lengths of stay, reducing transitions, and thereby improving throughput. This will make better use of existing capacity across the whole system, including the pathway to and from prison.