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Written question asked by Ruth Cadbury (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 February 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 27 February 2024 (named day). It was answered by Gareth Bacon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 February 2024 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisoners

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people serving sentences of less than 12 months were recorded as having (a) substance misuse issues, (b) a mental health issue, (c) been homeless before arrest, (d) been in the care system and (e) been excluded from school.

Answer

Data on the identified needs of offenders serving custodial sentences is captured in the Offender Assessment System (OASys). In June 2023, of the prisoner serving a custodial sentence of less than 12 months:

  • 11,600 (60%) had a drug misuse need
  • 7,500 (39%) had an alcohol misuse need

Mental health prevalence is most closely captured in OASys as current psychological problems (including depression) or psychiatric problems. Of those serving a custodial sentence of less than 12 months:

  • 6,400 (32%) were found to have a significant level or some level of psychiatric problems
  • 13,700 (70%) were found to have a significant level or some level of psychological problems

We do not hold specific data on those homeless before arrest.

The MoJ does not hold data on the number of adults in custody who had previously been in care by sentence length.

We do not hold data on the number or proportion of adults in custody that were excluded from school.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
14892
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Children in care Drugs Homelessness Mental illness Pupil exclusions Prisoners Misuse
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk