§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners currently serving sentences of imprisonment are known to his Department as having been considered by the courts that tried them as prima facia suitable for in-patient treatment in inmate hospitals but who were rejected by the relevant hospitals as being unacceptable.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesIt is not known in how many cases a court considered there were grounds for making a hospital order under the Mental Health Act 1959 in respect of an offender but was not able to proceed as arrangements could not be made for his admission to hospital. Such cases are not centrally recorded. I am, however, very much aware of the difficulties that courts face in this area and am considering, with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services, what can be done to ease them.