§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been transferred to NHS mental health facilities on temporary licence since 13 July 2000; and if he will make a statement about his policy. [16610]
§ Beverley HughesInformation about the number of prisoners transferred to national health service mental health facilities on temporary licence is not collected centrally but we would expect there to be few, if any, such cases. Our objective is to ensure that prisoners who are so severely mentally disordered that they require in-patient treatment in hospital are diagnosed, assessed and transferred as quickly as possible. Some 750 prisoners a year are transferred from prison to hospital by direction of the Home Secretary under sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983. It is the usual practice for such transfers to take place with an escort of either prison or hospital staff.