Lord Kamall (Con)

My Lords, during the passage of this Bill, both the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, and the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, who is not in his place, have spoken passionately about people with mental health issues in prison. The noble Baroness, Lady Fox, referred to Valdo Calocane, and I know that the Government have instigated an inquiry. That particular case was the motivation for Amendments 160BA and 160BB in a later group, to which my noble friend Lord Howe will speak. During the earlier debates on this, both at Second Reading and in Committee, I was particularly struck by the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, on Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor’s graphic description of seriously mentally ill people in prisons being akin to a Victorian nightmare. After that debate, I read some of what Charlie Taylor had said, particularly about his visit in 2022 to Eastwood Park, where he witnessed “bloodstains on the floor and scratch marks on the walls—evidence of the levels of distress of the women being held there”. The noble Baroness, Lady Fox, also told the Committee about the experience of prison staff, saying that one of the most difficult things is the danger that prisoners with mental health issues pose to themselves, other prisoners and staff. In fact, Charlie Taylor gave an example of an incident when staff were “unable to stop one inmate from repeatedly running into a brick wall due to a lack of suitable training”. These are very important issues that the noble Baroness and other noble Lords are raising. Given all this and its importance—I know that one of the reasons the Minister was appointed to his position was his experience and passion for prison reform—it seems reasonable to ask the Secretary of State to publish a review of the impact of this Act on prisons and to assess whether it provides for adequate support for ongoing treatment and care in those settings, including adequate staff training. I am sure this will be of help not only to the Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Care but to the Ministry of Justice. I look forward to the Minister’s response.