Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the rate of self-harm was among prisoners in (a) women's prisons and (b) men's prisons in each of the last three years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Department publishes statistics on deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics. A spreadsheet containing statistics on all instances of self-harm broken down by category is available, in addition to quarterly bulletins outlining trends at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics.
Last year, we implemented a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) multi-disciplinary case management approach to support prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm. We continue to make the Samaritans phone service available and are working with the Samaritans to ensure that the Listener peer support scheme continues to function effectively.
We are also implementing a new safety training package for staff, which addresses related issues, including suicide and self-harm prevention, understanding risks, triggers and protective factors, and communication skills.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of self-harm and attempted suicide have been recorded for biologically male transgender prisoners housed in the male estate in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
These figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System, which records the legal gender of prisoners. They are based on snapshot data collections from March 2018, 2019 and 2021. There was no collection in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data is not available for 2017. This is because legal gender did not form part of the central data collection in that year.
In 2017-18 there were 38 assaults and 14 sexual assaults on legally male transgender prisoners in the men’s prison estate. In 2018-19 there were 16 assaults and fewer than 5 sexual assaults. In 2020-21 there were fewer than 5 assaults and fewer than 5 sexual assaults.
In 2017-18 there were 332 self-harm incidents involving legally male transgender prisoners in the men’s prison estate. In 2018-19 there were 159. In 2020-21 there were 228. Data on attempted suicide is not available.
We have trained more than 25,000 staff in suicide and self-harm prevention as part of our drive to tackle these issues, and we continue to develop initiatives to better support people in custody.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many biologically male transgender prisoners housed in the male estate have been subjected to assault and to sexual assault in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
These figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System, which records the legal gender of prisoners. They are based on snapshot data collections from March 2018, 2019 and 2021. There was no collection in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data is not available for 2017. This is because legal gender did not form part of the central data collection in that year.
In 2017-18 there were 38 assaults and 14 sexual assaults on legally male transgender prisoners in the men’s prison estate. In 2018-19 there were 16 assaults and fewer than 5 sexual assaults. In 2020-21 there were fewer than 5 assaults and fewer than 5 sexual assaults.
In 2017-18 there were 332 self-harm incidents involving legally male transgender prisoners in the men’s prison estate. In 2018-19 there were 159. In 2020-21 there were 228. Data on attempted suicide is not available.
We have trained more than 25,000 staff in suicide and self-harm prevention as part of our drive to tackle these issues, and we continue to develop initiatives to better support people in custody.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS patients present as a suicide risk; and what steps they are taking in response.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information requested is not collected centrally. There is no national standardised assessment of suicide risk against which to measure the number of people nationally who present as a suicide risk.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends against using risk assessment tools to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm, although such tools may be considered to help structure risk assessments. National Health Service organisations use a range of tools to assist clinicians in assessing a patient’s individual risk. However, these should be used to support the assessment process and should not replace clinical judgement.
The National Suicide Prevention Strategy identifies groups known to be at higher risk of suicide than the general population, including those in the care of mental health services. We continue to work with the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group to monitor and understand suicide risk in different groups. We are investing an additional £57 million by 2023/24 to support local suicide prevention plans and the development of suicide bereavement services. The Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme also aims to reduce the number of suicides that occur across inpatient mental health and learning disability services.
NHS England and NHS Improvement is establishing 24 hours a day, seven days a week liaison mental health teams in every acute hospital to ensure that those presenting at hospital with mental health needs receive the appropriate care and treatment. By 2023/24, 70% of liaison services are expected to have met the ‘core 24’ service standard, working towards 100% coverage. NHS England and NHS Improvement will be supporting mental health trusts to refresh their Suicide Safety Plans to include both inpatient and community settings in 2021/22.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what immediate NHS provision is available to those at risk of suicide.
Answered by Lord Kamall
There is no defined pathway for those deemed at risk of suicide, as provision should be determined locally, based on a clinical assessment of the person’s individual situation and needs. However, we are expanding a number of other pathways to support people deemed at risk of suicide, including making 24 hours a day, seven days a week community-based mental health crisis response services available across England, with intensive home treatment available as an alternative to an acute inpatient admission. We are increasing alternative forms of provision, such as sanctuaries, safe havens, and crisis cafés, for those in crisis where appropriate and ensuring acute hospitals have a mental health liaison service in accident and emergency departments and inpatient wards.
We have committed that every integrated care system in the country will receive funding from £57 million identified for suicide prevention and bereavement services by 2023/24. This investment will allow integrated care systems to deliver multi-agency plans for suicide prevention activities, initiatives to improve care for those who self-harm and bereavement support.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the findings of Urgent Notification: HMP & YOI Chelmsford, published by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on 27 August 2021 that (a) chronic failings at Chelmsford have now been evident for at least a decade and (b) despite serious concerns about the prison’s work to prevent suicide or self-harm being raised in 2018, outcomes had deteriorated further, what steps (i) the Government has taken to ensure progress on those matters in the last five years and (ii) he will take to help ensure the lives of prisoners at HMP Chelmsford are protected.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We accept that HMP Chelmsford needs to improve and prior to the Urgent Notification, it began receiving specialist support through the Prison Performance Support Programme (PPSP) – which provides intensive support to some of our most challenging prisons.
To date, around £6 million has been invested through the PPSP allowing repairs to address decency, advanced technology to improve security, family ties and additional staffing to support improvement.
We are working hard to reduce self-harm and the number of those taking their lives in custody. Vulnerable prisoners are supported through the ACCT case management and we are currently rolling out further improvements to this framework. We have also given 25,000 new and existing staff self-harm and suicide prevention training to help them better support prisoners with complex needs and refreshed our partnership with the Samaritans who provide the excellent Listeners scheme, which trains selected prisoners to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.
There is evidence of progress at HMP Chelmsford during 2018/19 and 2019/20, prior to the pandemic. The April 2019 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) Independent Review of Progress report noted some positive progress including:
“…reasonable progress in addressing violence, supported by additional national and regional resources” as well as “…good progress in improving the quality of care to those at risk [of self-harm].”
It also noted that the “Governor continued to set a clear vision for the prison and had retained the support of those around her” and that “regional and national resources had been used to good effect”.
The report acknowledged the benefits of additional central investment, including complete refurbishment of two landings, new flooring in cells and communal areas, new showers and new serveries. Since the inspection an x-ray body scanner was also installed at the prison – to prevent the flow of illicit items which fuel instability.
An initial detailed plan of action is being developed in response to the Urgent Notification and will include actions beyond those already agreed under the PPSP. This will outline how we are addressing the immediate concerns at the prison and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 28 April (HL15156), what assessment they have made of their compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty, particularly section 149 (1b) of the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As required by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, the Department’s Annual Report for 2020 provides an overview on how it complied with the Public Sector Equality Duty between April 2020 and March 2021. Our compliance in relation to section 149 (1b) of the Equality Act 2010 included actions to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake among some ethnic minorities; provision of transparent personal protective equipment to support people who are deaf and people with hearing loss; publishing the National Suicide Prevention Strategy progress report with a commitment to address the lack of LGBT+ self-harm and suicide data; and establishing the Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum to address the inequalities for women and babies from different ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic groups.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the devolved administrations regarding suicide prevention measures.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Departmental officials responsible for suicide and self-harm prevention attend regular meetings with officials from devolved administrations to discuss best practice, share learning and look at emerging issues.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase (a) resources and (b) funding streams for suicide prevention services.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We are continuing to launch our suicide reduction programme across England, funded by £57 million by 2023/24, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. This will see investment in every area of the country to support local suicide prevention plans and establish suicide bereavement support services.
In March 2021 we published our mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan alongside the latest progress report against the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. Many of the actions in the plan will support people at risk of self-harm or suicide. An additional £500 million has been allocated to the plan in 2021/22, £5 million of which will be made available to support voluntary sector organisations who work to prevent suicide. A further £1 million will be used to bolster NHS England and NHS Improvement’s suicide prevention programme.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the latest data on the number of prisoners reported to have self-harmed while serving imprisonment for public protection sentences on recall.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Figures for the number of self-harm incidents by recalled Imprisonment for Public Protection prisoners for each of the past three years are shown below:
2018 = 584
2019 = 743
2020 = 761
We are focussing our efforts to address the levels of self-harm across the prison population, and are under no illusions about the impact of the measures which were put in place to protect lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, so we have made prisoners’ safety and wellbeing our priority.
We have produced a range of products to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate risks and promote wellbeing. Over 25,000 new and existing staff have received self-harm and suicide prevention training to help them better support prisoners with complex needs. We’ve enabled continued family contact through more than 1,600 secure mobile phones and rolled out secure video call technology into every single prison in the male, female and youth estate. Each prisoner is also currently given additional PIN credit per week. We are also delivering more in cell-activities such as distraction packs, supplementary food packs, and additional educational materials to mitigate the impact of isolation.
We have renewed our partnership with the Samaritans who are providing the excellent Listeners scheme, which trains selected prisoners to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.
We have prioritised the roll-out of the revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) multi-disciplinary case management system used in prisons to support people at risk of suicide and self-harm.
We have delivered improvements to the way we support, and case manage prisoners throughout their sentences by the significant investment in and changes introduced by the new Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model. This will provide each prisoner with a dedicated key worker who will be able to better support them and identify concerns at an early stage so that they can receive the right support at the right time.