Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 5 of the September 2018 HM Prison and Probation Service report Self-harm by adult men in prison: A rapid evidence assessment, whether he plans to undertake additional research to explore protective factors among males who self-harm in prison.

We have commissioned additional research in response to the recommendations in this publication, including a study that involves interviewing male prisoners who have previously self-harmed in order to explore what they feel enabled them to stop.

The Government takes very seriously its responsibility to keep prisoners safe, and we are committed to reducing the incidence of self-harm across the estate. This is why we have established a prison safety programme through which we are taking forward a comprehensive set of actions to improve safety in custody.

We have invested in over 3,000 additional staff in order to deliver consistent, purposeful regimes. We have also introduced the new key worker role, under which staff can give prisoners more effective challenge and support. We are taking action in a number of ways to identify and support prisoners at risk, including::

• rolling out revised and improved training for staff in assessing and managing the risk of suicide and self-harm amongst prisoners (this has already reached more than 17,000 staff);
• improving support for prisoners in their early days in custody;
• revising the ACCT case management process for those identified as being at risk; and
• renewing our partnership with the Samaritans by confirming a further three years' grant funding for their valuable Listeners Scheme.