Written question asked by Harry Cohen (Labour) on Thursday, 29 June 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 6 July 2000. It was answered by Lord Boateng (Labour) on Thursday, 6 July 2000 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what response he has made to the report of the Prison Inspectorate team on the care of prisoners with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement. - Inc ref to "The Future Organisation of Prison Healthcare".

Answer: Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the report of the Prison Inspectorate team on the care of prisoners with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement. [129107] Mr. Boateng: All prisons and the local health authorities in which they are situated have been asked, in line with the programme of reform set out in "The Future Organisation of Prison Healthcare" (March 1999) by March 2001 at the latest, jointly to assess prisoners' health needs and identify appropriate services to meet them and effective means of delivery. These should include inreach into prisons from community mental health teams as part of the broader development of mental health services as set out in the National Service Framework for Mental Health. Implementation of improvements through individual prison health plans is scheduled to begin from April 2001, although reforms are well underway in a number of prisons already.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 129107; 353 c295W
Session: 1999-00
Subjects: Health services Mentally disordered offenders Prisoners Prisons Mental health services
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk