Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Deaths of Offenders in the Community, England and Wales, 2020/21, published by his Department on 28 October 2021, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the 18 per cent increase in the number of self-inflicted deaths among people supervised by the probation service in the community between 2019-20 and 2020-21.

We are committed to doing all we can to prevent deaths of offenders under supervision. It is important to note that while probation staff can offer support, including help with access to health and substance misuse services, their primary purpose is to protect the public.

Statistics for the latest year reflect the impact of Covid-19 (and the measures it was necessary to take in response), as well as underlying trends. The category ‘self-inflicted death’ is not synonymous with “suicide”, but also includes a range of drug-related deaths. The more detailed breakdown provided in the published data tool shows that the biggest increase was in the drug overdose sub-category.

An internal review is conducted following each death, and most deaths in the ‘self-inflicted’ category are the subject of an inquest. Learning from these processes informs our approach to suicide prevention and substance misuse. We will be working closely with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to develop and share learning to improve practice.