Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce incidence of self harm on the secure estate.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
We recognise that rates of self-harm across the estate are high, and we are taking action to address this.
We provide individualised support through our case management process for people assessed as at risk of self-harm. This approach places a strong emphasis on identifying individual risks, triggers and protective factors and having effective care plans in place to record, address and mitigate risks.
All new staff receive suicide and self-harm prevention and mental health awareness training, to increase skills in supporting at-risk prisoners.
We fund Samaritans to train prisoners to provide emotional support to other prisoners in crisis (the Listener Scheme).
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rollout of suicide prevention training to prison and probation staff.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All new members of prison staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and all staff who undertake key roles in risk assessment and case management receive specific training related to those roles. An e-learning module has also recently been made available for all staff to access on postvention support following a self-inflicted death in custody. We continue to improve the training that we provide, and we are currently developing a new module on risks, triggers and protective factors.
There are two suicide prevention learning packages for probation staff: a Zero Suicide Alliance package that is required refresher training for all staff, and a package that is completed by all new entrant Professional Qualification in Probation and Probation Service Officers as part of a broader introduction to mental health.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she plans to take to reduce deaths in custody.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Every death in custody is a tragedy and we continue to do all we can to improve the safety of prisoners.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigates the deaths of prisoners in custody. The investigations are a vital tool to ensure lessons are learned following deaths in prison and to improve safety outcomes in the future.
We provide individualised support through our case management process for people assessed as at risk of suicide and self-harm. This approach places a strong emphasis on identifying individual risks, triggers and protective factors and having effective care plans in place to record, address and mitigate risks.
All new members of staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention.
We continue to work with Samaritans to provide support in the period following a self-inflicted death in order to reduce the risk of further deaths and for the delivery of the Listener scheme, through which selected prisoners are trained to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of suicide prevention training provided to (a) prison and (b) probation staff.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
All new members of prison staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and all staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management also receive specific training relating to those roles. This training is subject to regular review and feedback is sought from participants as part of this process. An e-learning module has recently been made available for all staff to access on postvention support following a self-inflicted death in custody, and the effectiveness of this will be reviewed in due course.
There are two suicide prevention learning packages for probation staff: a Zero Suicide Alliance package for all staff, and a package aimed at new entrant Professional Qualification in Probation and Probation Service Officers which was developed internally as part of a broader introduction to mental health. Following completion of this latter package the majority of the intended group stated that they felt more prepared to work in this area and more confident about this part of their role. The effectiveness of this learning will continue to be reviewed to ensure that it meets the needs of the business going forward.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral answer of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice on 11 March 2025 to Question 903119 on Female Offenders, whether specialised training includes suicide prevention training.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Foundation training programme for all new prison officers includes learning in relation to suicide and self-harm. For officers working in the female estate, there is an additional week of Foundation training which gives officers an understanding of the potential for increased risk factors for women in custody in relation to self-harm and suicide.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department consulted on the contents the suicide prevention training provided to prison and probation staff.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
All new members of prison staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and all staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management also receive specific training relating to those roles. An e-learning module has also recently been made available for all staff to access on postvention support following a self-inflicted death in custody. These products have been developed by the HM Prison and Probation Service learning design team in conjunction with policy leads and subject matter experts. They include material developed in partnership with Samaritans, and consultation on elements of the content has taken place with healthcare and other partners and the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody.
There are two suicide prevention learning packages for probation staff: a Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) package for all staff, and a package aimed at new entrant Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) and Probation Service Officers (PSOs) which was developed internally as part of a broader introduction to mental health. The former was developed externally by the ZSA (a suicide awareness and prevention initiative funded via Mersey Cares NHS Charity) in conjunction with HMPPS subject matter experts, and the latter builds upon this and tailors it to the needs of new entrants.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that prisoners are not at risk of harm or violence while serving their sentences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Safety in prisons is a key priority and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible for those who live and work in them.
Safe prisons are vital to enable prisoners to engage in rehabilitative activities that reduce reoffending.
We are supporting prisons to effectively manage individuals who are violent or at risk of self-harm or suicide and providing prison officers with the right tools to do their jobs.
Prisons have a range of physical security measures to counter the smuggling of contraband such as drugs, mobile phones and weapons – that drive prison violence and undermine safety. We have rolled out over 13,000 Body Worn Video Cameras across adult public sector prisons which means that every Band 3-5 officer has access to a camera whilst on shift.
All new members of staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and violence reduction. In addition, a violence reduction, and a gangs and harmful group behaviour training module are available to help staff better understand the drivers of violence and how to mitigate and manage these risks. All staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management for those at a raised risk of suicide and self-harm or of being violent also receive specific training relating to these roles.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a suicide prevention strategy aimed at (a) school and (b) university students.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government is committed to reducing the numbers of lives lost to suicide, including through prevention in educational institutions.
The Department of Health and Social Care published a Prevention Strategy for England on 11 September 2023 with over 130 actions aimed at reducing the suicide rate. The strategy also sets ambitions to improve support for people who self-harm and people who have been bereaved by suicide. As part of the strategy, a number of groups have been identified for consideration for tailored or targeted action at a national level, including children and young people.
Guidance to schools is reviewed regularly, including the statutory ‘Keeping children safe in education’ guidance that all schools must have regard to. Amongst other things, the guidance sets out the role all staff must play in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including identifying where mental health concerns are also safeguarding concerns and making appropriate referrals into early help support services and statutory support services as appropriate.
The statutory guidance for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), which came into force in September 2020, advises that schools should approach teaching about self-harm and suicide carefully and should be aware of the risks to pupils from exposure to materials that are instructive rather than preventative, including websites or videos that provide instructions or methods of self-harm or suicide. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
The department is currently reviewing the RSHE guidance and as part of this process the department will explore whether additional content is required on suicide prevention.
The National Review of Higher Education Student Suicides will report with important lessons for better supporting students and preventing tragedies in higher education (HE) settings in the spring. This will be published alongside updated data on HE student suicides from the Office for National Statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Department for Health and Social Care’s publication of the updated Notification of Child Death Form, whether they have adopted self-identification for under-18s; and if so, how this aligns with their response to the Cass Review.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Notification of Child Death Form, part of the National Child Mortality Database, continues to capture the sex of the child for anyone under 18 years old, in line with sex being a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
Although questions relating to gender identity already existed within one part of the National Child Mortality Database collection, specifically for suicide and self-harm, the change in October expanded these questions to all deaths. This was to capture the language used by young people and their families to improve system learning and to support the prevention of future deaths.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason his Department's Notification of Child Death Form asks about the gender with which the child identified at the time of their death in cases where the child was over 10; and whether his Department consulted on that change.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Notification of Child Death Form, part of the National Child Mortality Database, continues to capture the sex of the child for anyone under the age of 18 years old, in line with sex being a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
Although questions relating to gender identity already existed within one part of the National Child Mortality Database collection, specifically for suicide and self-harm, the change in October expanded these questions to all deaths. This was to capture the language used by young people and their families to improve system learning and to support the prevention of future deaths. It was not subject to public consultation.