Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence have died of natural causes while in prison since 2023.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Please see the number of people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence who have died of natural causes while in prison since 2023 in the table below. Please note that these figures are derived from the HMPPS Deaths in Prison Custody database. As classification of deaths may change following inquest or as new information emerges, numbers may change from time to time. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigate each death.
Year | Number |
2023 | 8 |
2024 | 12 |
2025 | 6 |
Notes
Figures include incidents at HMPPS operated Immigration Removal Centres and during contracted out escorts (including contracted out escort of prisoners from STCs), but do not include incidents at Medway STC.
Deaths in prison custody figures include all deaths of prisoners arising from incidents during prison custody. They include deaths of prisoners while released on temporary license (ROTL) for medical reasons but exclude other types of ROTL where the state has less direct responsibility.
All classifications of deaths remain provisional until confirmed at inquest. Due to the number of deaths that remain unclassified (awaiting further information) in recent years, and the latest year particularly, caution should be used when comparing with earlier periods.
In addition to deaths in prison custody which actually occur in hospitals, hospices or nursing homes a small proportion will occur while in an ambulance on the way to hospital, while on escort.
An indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) was introduced in 2005. It was intended for high risk prisoners considered ‘dangerous’ but whose offence did not merit a life sentence. The number of prisoners held on this sentence increased initially and the increase was offset by reductions elsewhere.
IPP prisoners in this table include both recalled and unreleased prisoners recorded as serving an IPP as their main sentence.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence have taken their own lives while they (1) have absconded, (2) are out on release on temporary licence, and (3) have a concurrent sentence running alongside their IPP sentence.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the last meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions took place; and how many times the council has met since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The last Council of the Nations and Regions took place on 23 May 2025. The Council has met twice since July 2024, in October 2024 where it discussed inward investment and once in May 2025, where it discussed trade and AI.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Local Growth Plans align with the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025; and what action they are taking to provide greater opportunities for more regions to ensure that alignment.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
When developing their Local Growth Plans, Mayoral Strategic Authorities should have regard to our published guidance, which states that plans should be informed by and help to deliver the Industrial Strategy, and highlight links to support growth-driving sectors including Defence.
The government continues to work with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to identify and co-agree shared priorities to guide the development of Local Growth Plans and underpin decision-making once these are in place.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how Local Growth Plans align with the Industrial Strategy; and what mechanism exists for central and local government leaders to ensure alignment of those plans.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
When developing their Local Growth Plans, Mayoral Strategic Authorities should have regard to our published guidance, which states that plans should be informed by and help to deliver the Industrial Strategy, and highlight links to support growth-driving sectors including Defence.
The government continues to work with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to identify and co-agree shared priorities to guide the development of Local Growth Plans and underpin decision-making once these are in place.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence have taken their own lives while (1) in prison, and (2) out on release.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There were 92 self-inflicted deaths of people serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence while in prison custody in the period from the introduction of the sentence in 2005 to December 2025. There were 44 such deaths of people serving an IPP on licence in the community between April 2019 and March 2025.
Data on community‑based deaths is only available for this more restricted period because:
Before April 2019 information was collected through manual returns, and identifying individuals serving an IPP sentence would require matching thousands of records, which cannot be done without disproportionate cost; and
Data for the period from April 2025 to March 2026 is scheduled for publication in October 2026.
The category of self-inflicted deaths includes a broader range of deaths than suicide. Definitions for apparent causes of death are provided in the ‘Safety in Custody’ and ‘Deaths of Offenders in the Community’ statistical publications. For breakdowns by year and other accompanying notes, please refer to the tables below. Information on self-inflicted deaths in prison by IPP prisoners are published annually in the detailed deaths tables accompanying the ‘Safety in Custody’ statistics (see Table 1_7 of Deaths in prison custody 1978 to 2025 for the most recent data, as provided here).
Table 1: Self-inflicted deaths in prison custody by Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence type since 2005, England and Wales
Imprisonment for Public Protection | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| |
4 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
|
Data sources and quality
Deaths figures are derived from the HMPPS Deaths in Prison Custody database. As classification of deaths may change following inquests or as new information emerges, numbers may change from time to time.
Notes
(1) Deaths in prison custody figures include all deaths of prisoners arising from incidents during prison custody. They include deaths of prisoners while released on temporary license (ROTL) for medical reasons but exclude other types of ROTL where the state has less direct responsibility.
(2) Due to the number of deaths that remain unclassified (awaiting further information) in recent years, and the latest year particularly, caution should be used when comparing with earlier periods.
(3) Apparent cause is based on the HMPPS classification of deaths in prison custody. The self-inflicted deaths category includes a wider range of deaths than suicides. When comparing figures with other sources it is important to determine whether the narrower suicide or broader self-inflicted deaths approach is in use.
(4) All classifications of deaths remain provisional until confirmed at inquest.
(5) In addition to deaths in prison custody which occur in hospitals, hospices or nursing homes, a small proportion will occur while in an ambulance on the way to hospital, while on escort.
(6) An indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) was introduced in 2005. It was intended for high-risk prisoners considered ‘dangerous’ but whose offence did not merit a life sentence. The number of prisoners held on this sentence increased initially and the increase was offset by reductions elsewhere.
(7) Recalled prisoners are those held in custody for breaching the terms of their licence conditions following release into the community. Recalled prisoners are not shown separately within the deaths tables, they are recorded against their initial sentence type.
(8) Caution should be used when comparing the number of deaths from one year to the next due to low numbers which are subject to fluctuation.
Table 2: Self-inflicted deaths of offenders serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence supervised on licence in the community, financial year 2019/20 to 2024/25, England and Wales (1) (2) (3) (4) | ||||||
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 (p) |
Community | 6 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
p) The 2024/25 figures are provisional and may be updated in future publications to account for any changes or additions to the data since they were originally collected
(1) Apparent causes for years prior to 2023/24 are based on data reported through annual returns (prior to 2020/21 only) or the national Delius case management system and have not been independently verified. From 2023/24 onwards, cause data sourced from Delius have been independently verified by the General Register Office (GRO) and updated accordingly. The latest provisional data for 2024/25 remain based on apparent causes, i.e., they have not been independently verified. For further details about the GRO verification process, refer to the guide to deaths of offenders supervised in the community statistics.
(2) The reporting period for these statistics (financial year 1 April to 31 March) relates to when the death occurred.
(3) A new set of death classifications was implemented on 1 April 2022 and, as such, figures for 2022/23 onwards are not comparable to those presented for previous years. The category of 'self-inflicted death' up to 31 March 2022 includes any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life, irrespective of intent. The category of 'self-inflicted death' from 1 April 2022 includes any death of a person at their own hand, including where intent is undetermined. This includes some drug poisonings (e.g., where a suicide note is found or the circumstances are suspicious) but not drug poisonings which appear to have been the accidental result of consumption for another purpose. Refer to the guide to deaths of offenders supervised in the community statistics for further details about the new set of classifications.
(4) In June 2025, a data sharing agreement was established with the General Register Office (GRO) to provide access to official cause of death data following the registration of a death. This information is then used to update the provisional categorisation of deaths on the probation case management system. Official causes of death from the GRO are only available for deaths occurring from 1 April 2023 onwards. Also, the registration of a death can be delayed when a case is referred to the coroner and, as such, the official cause of death from the GRO is not available for deaths that occurred in the most recent period. Comparisons across cause of death categories over time should, therefore, not be made, as periods prior to 1 April 2023 and the most recent reporting period are based on provisional classifications, which are not directly comparable to GRO-verified data.
Data sources and quality
The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Source: National Delius case management system.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to replace the current system of business rates.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The Call for Evidence, published at the Budget in November 2025, focuses on how reform of the business rates system can be used to incentivise and secure more investment by Britain’s businesses. This Call for Evidence builds on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asks stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions.
Any reforms taken forward will be phased over the course of the Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce youth unemployment.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy.
Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:
The £725 million package of reforms to the apprenticeship system will help to tackle youth unemployment and drive economic growth with thousands more young people expected to benefit over the next 3 years. This will include funded SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25, and £140 million pilot of new approaches to better connect young people aged 16-24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to increase foreign direct investment into the UK.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The Government has launched a modern Industrial Strategy, removing barriers to investment and improving access to finance to drive nationwide growth.
The expanded Office for Investment (OfI) offers enhanced commercial expertise and a broader regional presence, working closely with Mayors and Devolved Administrations to connect investors with high-potential opportunities across the UK.
The Government's commitment to wider regulatory reform will ensure that regulation proactively supports economic growth. This includes initiatives such as the Regulation Action Plan, which aims for a 25% reduction in business administration burdens, and embedding a growth duty for regulators. Through AI Growth Zones we will unlock large-scale compute capacity by creating locations where investment can happen quickly and confidently, driving investment and creating thousands of high-quality jobs.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of the 12 freeports in the UK; and what future impact they expect the freeports to achieve within the current Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
UK Freeports have played an important role in building the foundations for long-term regional and national growth and, alongside Investment Zones, they will be pivotal tools for delivering growth in the government’s priority sectors under the shared identity ‘Industrial Strategy Zones’.
As set out in the UK Freeports Programme Report (June 2025), Freeports have attracted £6.4 billion in private investment, with 89% of this total investment coming from overseas investors, demonstrating the international competitiveness of Freeports.
To assess the future economic impact of Freeports, MHCLG commissioned Arup to conduct analysis. This projected that the eight English Freeports would create around 60,000 net new jobs and support an additional 42,000 jobs across the supply chain, contributing approximately £6.6 billion per year in GVA. Further analysis is being undertaken, the results of which will be published in due course.