Offender Management Bill

I, too, was disappointed to see this provision in the Bill, which seems like another ingredient in the Government’s recipe for downgrading their responsibilities for the prison system. Healthcare in prison is vital for the effective rehabilitation of offenders and the effective management of offenders. My honourable friend Edward Garnier raised the issue in another place. He pointed out, rightly, that while healthcare services within prison are now provided through the local primary care trust—as the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, has reminded us—there is no guarantee that adequate provision will be made for the mentally ill. The Minister in another place recognised the need for more appropriate and accurately targeted provision of rehabilitation for the mentally ill. I await the Minister’s response with the hope that she can expand further on this.