§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration his Department has given to establishing special prisons for seriously mentally ill prisoners, staffed by personnel who are trained to deal with them. [15763]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Graham Allen, dated 27 March 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what consideration has been given to establishing special prisons for seriously mentally ill prisoners, staffed by personnel who are trained to deal with them.It is Government policy that mentally disordered offenders needing care and treatment should, wherever possible, receive it from the appropriate health and social services, rather than through the criminal justice system. Any prisoner suffering from a serious mental illness would be likely to fulfil the criteria for transfer to hospital set down in the Mental Health Act 1983.Section 47 of that Act confers on the Secretary of State power to issue a warrant directing the transfer to hospital of any sentenced prisoner, if he is satisfied, by reports from two doctors, that the prisoner is suffering from mental illness, psychopathic disorder, mental impairment or severe mental impairment of a nature or degree which makes it appropriate for him/her to be detained in a hospital for medical treatment. In a case of psychopathic disorder or mental impairment, such treatment must be likely to alleviate or prevent a deterioration of the condition concerned.Section 48 of the 1983 Act makes similar provision in respect of unsentenced and certain other categories of prisoners who are suffering from mental illness or severe mental impairment and in urgent need of treatment.Such transfers are often to one of the three special hospitals or to NHS medium secure units.It would be inappropriate for people in this group to be treated in prison, except on a voluntary basis pending imminent transfer. There has been a marked increase in the number of transfers from prison to hospital under sections 47 and 48 in recent years from 115 in 1983, through 206 in 1988, to 776 in 1993. At present the provisional total for 1994 is 746.