§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is(a) the number of prisoners waiting removal or transfer to a psychiatric hospital under Mental Health Acts provisions, (b) the number of prisoners 413W considered by prison doctors to be sufficiently mentally ill to occupy an in-patient bed in a prison health care centre, (c) the number of prisoners considered by prison doctors to require some form of mental health care but not removal or transfer to a psychiatric hospital or in-patient treatment in a prison health care centre and (d) the number of prisoners transferred to hospital by direction of the Home Secretary under sections 72 and 73 of the Mental Health Act 1959, sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983, or other provision in each year since 1979. [17008]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Jack Straw, dated 26 February 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question seeking certain statistical information about prisoners suffering from mental disorders.On 20 January 1996, the most recent date for which such information is available is:
- 163 prisoners were recorded as awaiting removal or transfer to a psychiatric hospital under provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983;
- 853 prisoners were recorded as being sufficiently mentally disordered to be occupying beds in prison health care centres; and
- 1380 prisoners were recorded as requiring some form of mental health care but not transfer to hospital or in-patient treatment in a prison health care centre.
The attached table gives the number of transfers to hospital from 1979 onwards under sections 72 and 73 of the Mental Health Act 1959 and sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983. The method of producing these statistics was changed in 1994. The figures for 1992 and subsequent years omit prisoners transferred without the imposition of restrictions under section 49 of the 1983 Act. Such restrictions require the Home Secretary's consent on all matters relating to absence, transfer or, except where directed by a Mental Health Review Tribunal, discharge.This explains the difference between the figures for 1992, 1993 and 1994 provided in the former Director General's letter to you of 10 February 1995.
Transfers of prisoners to hospital by direction of the Home Secretary under Sections 72 and 73 of the Mental Health Act 1959 and Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983 After sentence S72/S47 Before sentence S73/S48 Total 1979 70 16 86 1980 87 19 106 1981 86 22 108 1982 85 18 103 1983 91 24 115 1984 108 47 155 1985 100 41 141 1986 107 53 160 1987 127 77 204 1988 121 85 206 1989 131 100 231 1990 156 181 337 1991 193 264 457 1992 227 378 605 1993 284 483 767 1994 249 535 784 19951 254 484 738 1 Provisional figure.