Prison Sentences: Mentally Disturbed Offenders Paul Holmes To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders imprisoned with an indeterminate sentence for public protection have been held in secure hospitals since 2005; and if he will make a statement. Maria Eagle Prisoners may be detained in hospital under powers of the Mental Health Act 1983, either if directed to hospital by the court on sentencing or if directed by the Secretary of State during their sentence. They may also be remitted to prison during sentence. Information is not available in the form requested. To answer how many offenders sentenced to an IPP who have been detained in a secure hospital at some time since 2005 would require manual checking of a large number of case files, which could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost. On 14 January 2010, Ministry of Justice records showed 115 prisoners in hospital under powers of the 1983 Act, who were also serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP).