§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the number of mentally disordered offenders who are deaf. [165834]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThere are two specialist mental health facilities for deaf mentally disordered offenders. These are at Rampton Hospital, a high secure hospital, which accommodates up to 10 individuals and Mayflower Hospital, an independent medium secure hospital, which has places for up to 40.
There will also be some deaf people in prison. The exact number is not known because no statistics are collected. The best available estimate is that 0.1 per cent. of the prison population will have some degree of hearing loss and that there may be between 50 and 100 who are profoundly deaf. Of these, up to a third may have mental health problems. These figures are, however, estimates and should be treated with caution.