Responding to the justice committee's report Mental health in prisons, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

"We are pleased to see the committee highlight that healthcare, including mental healthcare, in prisons has improved since the NHS took over responsibility in 2005.

"We agree that much more still needs to be done to address longstanding problems.

"Trust leaders have stressed the high demand for care for people in the criminal justice system, and their concerns about the timescales from assessment to hospital to admission, as well as the difficult and lengthy process of decision making and transferring patients.

"The committee is right to highlight the urgent need for building up the capacity of mental health community and inpatient services.

"We also support its recommendation that the NHS should work to explore why there is a racial disparity in identifying mental health issues in prison.

"The spending review next month provides a key opportunity to address the sector's need for additional resources.

"We also need to invest in wider public services in order to tackle the underlying issues driving the pressures on all mental health services and the rising severity and complexity of people's needs at the point at which they present to services."