asked Her Majesty's Government:
How soon they will make good the £150,000 shortfall of funding for mental health in-reach to HMP Grendon that has arisen due to the suspension of agreed payments from Buckinghamshire National Health Service Primary Care Trust. [HL2203]
The same criteria are used to determine the healthcare funding allocation for all prison establishments in England, including operational capacity and prison type. Funds are allocated as a global sum to the local primary care trust (PCT) and it is the responsibility of a prison's partnership board to ensure that its healthcare provision is of an equivalent quality and range to that which the public receives from the National Health Service.
The healthcare allocation for HMP Grendon in 2006-07 was £770,000, including mental health in-reach funding. That represents an increase of 25 per cent on the 2003-04 figure of £615,000.
The PCT has confirmed that no payments have been suspended. HMP Grendon runs a unique regime, with therapeutic personnel employed as part of a specialised custodial service funded by the Prison Service. During 2006, the PCT has worked with the prison to draw up a service specification and tender for supplementary mental health in-reach services. Funding to provide this service has been estimated at £150,000 to £200,000 per annum and is being considered as part of the local delivery plan process.