A report calling for offenders with mental health problems and learning difficulties to be identified and diverted to health rather than criminal justice services may revolutionise the handling of such cases.

Lord Bradley’s review of people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system was commissioned in 2007 by justice secretary Jack Straw. The report, published last week, makes more than 80 recommendations, all accepted by the government.

Key recommendations focus on early intervention, better sharing of information and a more joined-up approach between the criminal justice system and health and welfare agencies. The government said it would set up a national board this month to bring together all departments responsible for criminal justice, health and social care. The board will draw up a national delivery plan by October.

Lord Bradley told the Gazette that his proposals mean money will be spent more efficiently, because agencies that previously worked independently will work as a team. ‘The police in particular recognise that, with the backup of mental health teams, they can do a better job of diverting the mentally ill away from prison and from a life of re-offending,’ he said.

Richard Charlton, chairman of the Mental Health Lawyers Association, pointed to a February 2009 report from the Prison Reform Trust that said 70% of the prison population of 82,240 have two or more mental health disorders. ‘Lord Bradley’s recommendations, for the first time, set out a clear agenda to tackle the scandal of jailing sick people,’ he said.

Angela Greatley, chief executive of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, agreed that the UK imprisons too many people with mental health problems. ‘Lord Bradley has set out a comprehensive and ambitious way of putting that right,’ she said.