Guidance
HMPPS responsibility for access to health and social care policy framework
This policy framework is for prisons and probation sets out HM Prison and Probation Service responsibilities for enabling access to NHS healthcare and local authority social care.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
This Policy Framework sets out mandatory duties, alongside general guidance, on how HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in England and Wales must work with NHS and local authority partners to enable timely, safe, and equitable access to health services and social care for people in prison and those under probation supervision. It explains HMPPS’s role in supporting access to health and social care and clarifies the limits of HMPPS’s responsibility for clinical decision-making and clinical governance.
Who this framework is for
- prison governors and prison operational leaders in England and Wales
- probation leaders, Probation Delivery Units, and probation practitioners
- approved Premises managers (where relevant to health and wellbeing facilities)
- HMPPS staff responsible for partnership working, information sharing, and operational delivery that affects access to health and social care
Updates to this page
Published 1 June 2026