To ask the Minister of Health when he will publish his Department's response on the mental health issues arising from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority Inspection Report into the care and supervision units within prisons.

I trust the report you are referring to is the recently published review by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority Inspection (RQIA) into Services for Vulnerable Persons Detained in Prison in Northern Ireland.

The Department has commenced the process of considering the findings and recommendations put forward in this report along with all relevant organisations. An implementation plan will be developed in due course. There is no plan, at this stage, to publish a response to individual recommendations put forward in the report.