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Bradley to undertake mental health review

Marie Burchill
27/12/2007

LORD Keith Bradley is to lead a review into the treatment of people with severe mental health problems in the criminal justice system.

The Westminster peer will undertake the work as part of his duties in the House of Lords and will work closely with the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice during the investigations.

The main aim of the report is to find ways in which more offenders with severe mental health problems can be diverted away from prison and into more appropriate accommodation.

Lord Bradley – who began his career in the House of Lords this summer – said: "It’s well recorded that there are many people who suffer from mental health problems being sent to prison.

"However, we need to find more appropriate ways of dealing with this situation, rather than involving the prison system, so that people – who are not a danger to the public – can be treated properly. We are in the very early stages of this review, but we are set to hold our first meeting in the coming weeks to decide on our plan of action over the next six months.

"We need to put together a set of proposals so that people with mental health problems can be rehoused and so that we can ensure there are sufficient services and provisions in place for them.

"We will be reporting back to the government on this matter in six months.

"I am very pleased that the government has asked me to undertake this work on an independent basis, as well as reporting back to them. Hopefully this will provide a valuable contribution to the massive number of people who are experiencing mental health problems."

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