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<p>In response to both the Justice Select Committee’s inquiry on Mental Health in
Prisons and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation’s inspection of the Criminal Justice
Journey for Individuals with Mental Health Needs and Disorders, health and justice
partners set out a wide range of commitments to improve mental health support in prisons,
committing to ensuring that people in prison have access to an equivalent standard,
range, and quality of health care in prisons to that available in the wider community.</p><p>
</p><p>Since the inquiries, the Government has published a draft Mental Health Bill,
which is now subject to pre-legislative scrutiny. The Bill includes vital reforms
to support people with serious mental illnesses in the criminal justice system. This
includes speeding up access to specialist in-patient care and treatment by ending
the use of prison as a ‘place of safety’ and establishing a new statutory time limit
of 28 days for transfers from prison to hospital.</p><p> </p><p>In partnership with
the Centre for Mental Health, NHS England recently completed a national mental health
needs analysis for prisoners. This data will feed into a refreshed mental health service
specification by April 2023 to ensure that services continue to be tailored to the
needs of people in prison.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice is committed to continuing
to work closely with NHS England to improve services in prison, ensuring that people
have access to timely and effective mental health care. This ongoing commitment is
reflected in the new National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England,
which is due to be published shortly.</p>
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