Tag: Lord Bradley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the circumstances in which it is appropriate for the court to appoint an intermediary for communication support for a vulnerable defendant.

Lord Faulks

A judge can grant the use of an intermediary to meet the needs of a vulnerable defendant to ensure a fair trial. The Criminal Procedure Rules and Practice Directions require the court to take every reasonable step to facilitate the participation of any person, including the defendant. This includes ensuring that a defendant is able to give their best evidence, and enabling a defendant to comprehend the proceedings and engage fully with their defence.

We are currently considering the provision of intermediaries for vulnerable defendants as part of our on-going work around the communication needs of all vulnerable court users.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many places in category D prisons were available in England and Wales in each month since January 2013.

Lord Faulks

Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, only those prisoners who are assessed as low risk of escape/abscond and low risk of causing harm to the public are transferred to an open prison.

The following table shows the number of category D places that were available and occupied by prisoners in open prisons in England and Wales as at the last Friday in each month since January 2013. This information is published monthly on gov.uk

The data above does not include the number of places available and in use in category D units in otherwise closed prisons.

Breakdown of the population and capacity of the dedicated open estate from

January 2013 to October 2015.

Month	Capacity	Population
Jan-13	5,131	4,933
Feb-13	5,131	4,953
Mar-13	5,131	4,982
Apr-13	5,131	4,993
May-13	5,131	4,988
Jun-13	5,131	4,981
Jul-13	5,131	4,988
Aug-13	5,131	4,994
Sep-13	5,131	4,990
Oct-13	5,131	5,005
Nov-13	5,203	5,048
Dec-13	5,217	4,993
Jan-14	5,217	4,932
Feb-14	5,217	4,994
Mar-14	5,217	5,037
Apr-14	5,339	5,159
May-14	5,339	5,122
Jun-14	5,339	5,087
Jul-14	5,339	5,082
Aug-14	5,374	5,011
Sep-14	5,374	4,943
Oct-14	5,397	4,846
Nov-14	5,397	4,814
Dec-14	5,397	4,759
Jan-15	5,405	4,666
Feb-15	5,329	4,680
Mar-15	5,131	4,691
Apr-15	5,453	4,922
May-15	5,468	4,876
Jun-15	5,544	5,020
Jul-15	5,569	5,019
Aug-15	5,569	5,062
Sep-15	5,520	5,076
Oct-15	5,550	5,127

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance has been issued to the courts to ensure that the option of a mental health Community Treatment Order is considered as part of a Community Sentence.

Lord Faulks

The National Probation Service provides sentencers with advice on requirements that could from part of a court ordered community order or a suspended sentence order. Guidance has been produced by the National Offender Management Service that is aimed at all partners, including the National Probation Service and the courts, to support increased use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements. This guidance can be found in the document Mental health Treatment Requirement – a Guide to Integrated Delivery, published on gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many places in category D prisons in England and Wales were occupied by prisoners in each month since January 2013.

Lord Faulks

Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, only those prisoners who are assessed as low risk of escape/abscond and low risk of causing harm to the public are transferred to an open prison.

The following table shows the number of category D places that were available and occupied by prisoners in open prisons in England and Wales as at the last Friday in each month since January 2013. This information is published monthly on gov.uk

The data above does not include the number of places available and in use in category D units in otherwise closed prisons.

Breakdown of the population and capacity of the dedicated open estate from

January 2013 to October 2015.

Month	Capacity	Population
Jan-13	5,131	4,933
Feb-13	5,131	4,953
Mar-13	5,131	4,982
Apr-13	5,131	4,993
May-13	5,131	4,988
Jun-13	5,131	4,981
Jul-13	5,131	4,988
Aug-13	5,131	4,994
Sep-13	5,131	4,990
Oct-13	5,131	5,005
Nov-13	5,203	5,048
Dec-13	5,217	4,993
Jan-14	5,217	4,932
Feb-14	5,217	4,994
Mar-14	5,217	5,037
Apr-14	5,339	5,159
May-14	5,339	5,122
Jun-14	5,339	5,087
Jul-14	5,339	5,082
Aug-14	5,374	5,011
Sep-14	5,374	4,943
Oct-14	5,397	4,846
Nov-14	5,397	4,814
Dec-14	5,397	4,759
Jan-15	5,405	4,666
Feb-15	5,329	4,680
Mar-15	5,131	4,691
Apr-15	5,453	4,922
May-15	5,468	4,876
Jun-15	5,544	5,020
Jul-15	5,569	5,019
Aug-15	5,569	5,062
Sep-15	5,520	5,076
Oct-15	5,550	5,127

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which (1) NHS Foundation Trusts, and (2) NHS Trusts, have an accumulated surplus of (a) up to £1 million, (b) £1–5 million, (c) £5–10 million, (d) £10–20 million, (e) £20–30 million, (f) £30–50 million, and (g) over £50 million.

Lord Prior of Brampton

‘Accumulated surplus’ has been interpreted to mean the closing balance of a trust’s retained earnings reserve at 31 March 2016. This represents the accumulated balance of annual surpluses and deficits, adjusted for any amounts offset against other reserves, such as the revaluation reserve. As this is an accumulated balance, it will differ from the annual surplus or deficit reported in the trust’s Statement of Comprehensive Income, which forms part of figures published for the provider sector by NHS Improvement.

Trusts with accumulated surpluses in the bands specified are detailed in the attached document.

All other trusts reported an accumulated deficit overall at 31 March 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish a National Framework for the care of (1) children, and (2) adults, who have suffered a severe brain injury and are cared for at home.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department has no plans to publish a specific National Framework for the care of children or adults who have suffered a severe brain injury.

However, there are National Frameworks for continuing care for children and young people (under the age of 18), and for NHS Continuing Healthcare (for individuals aged 18 or over), which support the provision of packages of care for those assessed as eligible to meet needs that have arisen as a result of a disability, accident or illness including severe brain injury. Copies are attached. The diagnosis of a particular disease or condition is not in itself a determinant of eligibility.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to produce a national strategy plan for the health and care of older prisoners.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The health and social care needs of older prisoners will continue to be managed through health needs assessments (HNAs). HNAs address these needs on a prison-by-prison basis, reflect the diverse health needs of prisoners, including older prisoners, and identify the health needs which inform health commissioning in that establishment.

Public Health England, NHS England and the National Offender Management Service commission individual HNAs in all prisons in England on a regular basis, as part of the commissioning timetable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Mental Health Taskforce report on a new five-year national strategy for mental health will be published.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Mental Health Taskforce is finalising its recommendations and supporting analysis to ensure these are robust. Their report is due to be published by NHS England in the New Year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Clinical Commissioning Groups in England have achieved real terms increases in spending on mental health services in 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton

As part of the mental health parity of esteem requirement for 2015-16, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were asked to plan for an increase in spend on mental health services at least in line with the increase in their overall funding allocation for the year, which set a higher bar than achieving a real terms increase in spending, though not all CCGs were able to achieve this target. 192 of the 209 CCGs achieved a real terms growth in mental health planned spend measured against the 1.4% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator for 2015-16.

The list attached shows which CCGs have achieved real terms increases in spending on mental health in 2015-16.

The final data for CCGs’ spending on mental health in 2015-16 will be submitted to NHS England by commissioners in May 2016, and it is anticipated NHS England may be in a position to provide final spend information by around the end of the first quarter of 2016-17.

NHS England has not yet published CCG planning guidance for 2016-17. Consideration will be given to holding commissioners to account for spending on mental health.

CCG and NHS England mental health spending information is now routinely collected as party of NHS England’s monthly financial reporting regime. Monthly financial reports by CCGs are scrutinised and quality assessed by NHS England’s regional teams. The monthly reports also form part of the CCG assurance process. NHS England is also in the process of setting up the financial plan assurance process for 2016-17, which will incorporate the review of planned spending on mental health services for future years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Clinical Commissioning Groups in England have achieved real terms increases in spending on mental health services in 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton

As part of the mental health parity of esteem requirement for 2015-16, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were asked to plan for an increase in spend on mental health services at least in line with the increase in their overall funding allocation for the year, which set a higher bar than achieving a real terms increase in spending, though not all CCGs were able to achieve this target. 192 of the 209 CCGs achieved a real terms growth in mental health planned spend measured against the 1.4% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator for 2015-16.

The list attached shows which CCGs have achieved real terms increases in spending on mental health in 2015-16.

The final data for CCGs’ spending on mental health in 2015-16 will be submitted to NHS England by commissioners in May 2016, and it is anticipated NHS England may be in a position to provide final spend information by around the end of the first quarter of 2016-17.

NHS England has not yet published CCG planning guidance for 2016-17. Consideration will be given to holding commissioners to account for spending on mental health.

CCG and NHS England mental health spending information is now routinely collected as party of NHS England’s monthly financial reporting regime. Monthly financial reports by CCGs are scrutinised and quality assessed by NHS England’s regional teams. The monthly reports also form part of the CCG assurance process. NHS England is also in the process of setting up the financial plan assurance process for 2016-17, which will incorporate the review of planned spending on mental health services for future years.