Five years of progress since Bradley Report must be sustained by local and national action, says an independent commission

The Bradley Report five years on is the final report of an independent commission chaired by Lord Bradley to review progress since the 2009 review of the extent to which offenders with mental health problems or learning disabilities could be diverted from prison. The latest report finds that there has been concerted action to improve support for people with mental health problems and those with learning difficulties in the criminal justice system, but that this will need to be sustained for at least another five years to put the vision into practice nationwide.

In the report, the Commission recommends that criminal justice agencies should provide more training for their staff and members of the judiciary on how to support young adults with mental health problems; speech, language and communication needs; developmental problems such as ADHD; and learning difficulties and disabilities.

It also recommends that the Department of Health should commission a study of the prevalence of poor mental health, learning disability and other vulnerabilities throughout the criminal justice system.