Offenders: Mental Illness

Ministry of Justice written question – answered at on 26 November 2021.

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Photo of Lyn Brown Lyn Brown Shadow Minister (Justice)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to A joint thematic inspection of the criminal justice journey for individuals with mental health needs and disorders, published on 17 November 2021, what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues in the Department for Health and Social Care on the (a) steps needed to increase the use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements and (b) information-sharing and rates of attendance at Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement meetings by mental health providers.

Photo of Victoria Atkins Victoria Atkins The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, Minister for Afghan resettlement

The Ministry of Justice welcomes the joint thematic inspection and will be providing a formal response and supporting action plan in the new year.

Working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England we will be increasing the availability of Primary Care Mental Health Treatment Requirements to cover at least 50% of all courts by 2023. We are also preparing to launch a campaign with sentencers and court staff to raise awareness of MHTRs where they are available and to promote their use.

The Secretary of State’s statutory guidance to (MAPPA) responsible authorities has a dedicated chapter on mentally-disordered offenders, emphasising the importance of information sharing with and by medical practitioners, to inform risk assessment and risk management. The guidance is available at https://mappa.justice.gov.uk/MAPPA/view?objectID=5682416.

Officials have also undertaken significant work to build awareness on the part of medical practitioners of the role of MAPPA and of their part in the effective delivery of these arrangements in individual cases.

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