§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans will be put into operation during the next business year to reduce suicides in prisons in England and Wales. [29953]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 June 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about what plans will be put into operation during the next business year to reduce suicides in prisons in England and Wales.The Prison Service regards every self-inflicted death in custody as a tragedy. A new strategy, Caring for the Suicidal in Custody, was introduced throughout the Prison Service in April 1994, based on research commissioned by the Prison Service and carried out by the Cambridge Institute of Criminology.We will be maintaining this strategy and continuing with a major programme of staff training and the expansion of Listener Schemes, as well as working with the Samaritans and other groups and disseminating good practice.The new strategy is currently being evaluated. When this is completed, we will introduce any improvements that are indicated by the evaluation.