§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conclusions he has made based on the trends in the incidence of suicide and self-harm in prisons in England in the last five years. [134386]
§ Mr. BoatengThe number of self-inflicted deaths in prison in England and Wales has risen in the last five years from 64 in 1996 to 91 in 1999 (116 and 91 per 100,000 respectively). The current figure for this year is 72. Total incidents of self-harm have risen from 6,670 in 1995–96 to 7,397 in 1998–99.
The majority of these deaths occurred in local prisons among prisoners who are unsentenced and within the first two months in custody. Other particularly vulnerable groups of prisoners are those who have previously suffered from mental health problems or from drug/alcohol abuse.
The number of self-inflicted deaths among women prisoners and young offenders are relatively low, but are rising this year. Rates of self-harm among women and young offenders are higher than adult male prisoners. Many of those who self-harm experienced similar problems to those who took their own lives.
These trends reinforce the need to give a high priority to measures to combat the incidence of suicide and self-harm. The Prison Service is reviewing its suicide/ self-harm prevention strategy and will report to Ministers shortly.