To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the average time taken between initial assessment by a psychiatrist at Young Offender Institution Ashfield and Huntercombe and transfer to facilities provided by St. Andrews Healthcare. (222237)

This work has not been undertaken centrally.

The “Procedure for the Transfer of Prisoners to and from Hospital under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983” was published in December 2007 with contributions from the Department of Health, HM Prison Service and National Commissioning Group. A copy has been placed in the Library. The National Commissioning Group are responsible for commissioning a range of specialist services including the national in-patient Secure Forensic Mental Health Service for Young People, which oversees in-patient treatment and referrals to seven specialist units for under 18s in England.

The “Procedure for the Transfer of Prisoners to and from Hospital under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983” aims to help colleagues to work together more effectively to secure and sustain significant improvements in any unacceptable delays transferring patients from custodial care to hospital care and includes a specific section on young people. The procedure states that a child with an acute need for a mental health secure bed should be moved within seven days.