HC Deb 23 January 2003 vol 398 cc480-4W
Mrs. Brooke

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures are being taken by his Department to ensure a decrease in the numbers of suicides by inmates of prisons in England and Wales; [90492]

(2) how many suicides by inmates of prisons in England and Wales there were for the period January 1992 to December 2002 broken down by prison; and what estimate he has made of the numbers of suicides for the period January 2003 to December 2013. [90491]

Hilary Benn

The following table covers the 762 apparently self-inflicted deaths between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2002.

Table showing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prison establishments in England and Wales
between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2002
Calendar year
Establishment 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Total
Eastwood
Park 3 1 1 5
Elmley 1 1 2 1 5
Erlestoke 2 1 1 4
Everthorpe 1 1
Exeter 4 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 3 17
Featherstone 1 1 1 3
Feltham 2 1 2 1 1 7
Forest
Bank 1 1
Frankland 1 1 2
Full
Sutton 1 1 1 1 1 1 6
Garth 2 1 3 1 1 1 9
Gartree 1 1 1 3
Glen
Parva 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 9
Gloucester 1 2 1 3 1 8
Grendon 2 1 1 4
Haverigg 1 1 2
High
Down 1 4 2 3 1 11
Highpoint
(Men) 1 1 2
Highpoint
(Women) 1 1
Hindley 1 1 2 1 1 1 7
Holloway 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 11
Holme
House 2 1 2 3 1 5 14
Hull 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 4 18
Kingston
Portsmouth 1 1 1 3
Kirkham 1 1
Lancaster 1 1
Latchmere
House 1 1
Leeds 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 5 3 1 3 24
Leicester 1 3 3 1 1 3 4 2 1 19
Lewes 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 3 5 20
Lincoln 3 1 2 2 2 10
Lindholme 1 1
Littlehey 1 1 1 1 5
Liverpool 1 2 5 1 3 5 1 2 2 2 24
Long
Lartin 1 1 1 1 2 1 7
Low
Newton 2 2 1 1 6
Maidstone 1 1 1 1 4
Manchester 2 2 4 4 8 1 1 1 23
Moorland 3 1 1 5
The
Mount 1 1 2
New
Hail 1 1 1 1 2 6
Northallerton 1 2 3
Norwich 2 2 4 1 1 5 2 1 2 1 21
Nottingham 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 2 17
Parc 1 3 1 2 2 9
Parkhurst 1 1 2 1 1 6
Dentonville 4 2 2 1 1 3 1 14
Portland 1 1 1 1 4
Preston 1 1 2 3 2 3 2 1 2 17
Prescoed/
Usk 1 1
Ranby 1 1
Reading 3 1 4
Risley 1 1 2 1 1 6
Rochester 1 1
Shepton
Mallet 1 1
Shrewsbury 1 1 1 1 4
Stafford 1 1 2 1 5
Stocken 1 1 1 3

Table showing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prison establishments in England and Wales
between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2002
Calendar year
Establishment 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Total
Stoke
Heath 1 1 2
Styal 1 1 1 2 5
Swaleside 1 1 2 4
Swansea 1 1 1 1 4
Swiften
Hall 2 1 3
The
Verne 1 1
Wakefield 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 10
Wandsworth 2 4 1 2 7 1 2 19
Wayland 1 1
Wealstun 2 2
Wellingborough 1 1 2
Wetherby 1 1 1 1 4
Whatton 1 1 2
Whitemoor 1 1 2
Winchester 1 1 2 2 5 2 4 3 1 21
Wolds 1 1 1 1 1 1 6
Woodhill 1 1 1 2 1 2 3 11
Wormwood
Scrubs 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 10
Wymott 1 1 2
Escort
Custody 1 2 5 1 9
Total 41 47 61 59 64 68 83 91 81 73 94 762

There are no forward estimates of the number of prisoner self-inflicted deaths. The Government aim to reduce suicides in prisons as in the community generally. The Department of Health's National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which aims to support the 'Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation' target of reducing the death rate from suicide in the community by at least 20 per cent. by 2010, includes a target for the Prison Service of such a reduction (to 112.8 self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 prisoners) by April 2004.

The Prison Service recognises that it has a duty of care for all prisoners. This is reflected in current policy and procedures in respect of identifying prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm, and providing the subsequent care and support for such prisoners, and support for the staff who care for them. Prison Service Instructions make clear that it is the responsibility of all staff to initiate the self-harm at-risk procedures whenever they believe a prisoner is at such risk. These procedures ensure those caring for the at-risk prisoner consider the appropriate level of supervision, location and support for that prisoner. Each at-risk prisoner has an individual support plan drawn up by a multi-disciplinary review team, which will also involve the prisoner themselves.

The general prison population contains a large number of prisoners with a combination of psychiatric disorders, alcohol and drug dependency, family background and relationship problems, histories of self-harm and previous abuse, all of which raise their risk of suicide. Good care and support from staff saves many lives but such instances go largely unreported.

The Prison Service's approach, in close partnership with outside organisations such as the Samaritans, is to identify and better support those who seem at greatest risk and focus on staff/prisoner relationships and the physical environment. The Prison Service's suicide prevention and self-harm reduction programme

includes a series of inter-related projects to improve pre-reception, reception and induction arrangements; interagency information exchange; prisoner care; detoxification; prisoner peer support, and the learning from investigations into deaths in custody.

Piloting of these projects is focused on six establishments—Wandsworth, Feltham, Eastwood Park, Leeds, Winchester and Birmingham—although others are involved in aspects of the work. An investment of £21.69 million over the three year programme from April 2001 is allowing physical improvements to be made at these six sites, for example to reception and induction areas, and through the installation of more first night centres, safer cells, crisis suites and gated cells that enable staff to watch at-risk prisoners closely. The programme will be subject to an independent quantitative and qualitative evaluation.

Wing staff will be increasingly supported in the work by in-reach mental health teams and by the establishment where possible of dedicated drug detoxification units. Between August 2001 and June 2002 new health care screening procedures have been piloted at six adult male remand prisons (Leeds, Wandsworth, Holme House, Liverpool, Manchester and Durham) two female remand prisons (Eastwood Park and New Hall) and two young offender institutions (Feltham and Glen Parva). The two female prisons include both adults and women aged 16–21 years. An evaluation of the pilot project supported implementation of the new reception screening arrangements across the estate, and a rolling programme is planned commencing in April 2003.