HC Deb 13 April 1999 vol 329 cc23-4W
Dr. Gibson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 March 1999,Official Report, column 31, on Prison Deaths (Notification), if the Follow Up To Deaths In Custody document includes (i) guidance on the timescale and (ii) a maximum delay for the notification of relatives following the death of a patient in hospital. [80565]

Mr. George Howarth

Next of kin should be notified as soon as possible following a death in prison custody. Because individual circumstances may differ, the Prison Service Order does not set minimum or maximum timescales. The same principles apply if a prisoner dies in an outside hospital.