Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames
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Prisons: Self-inflicted Deaths
Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames Excerpts(8 years ago)
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Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames (LD)
My Lords, some 70% of prisoners who commit suicide have serious mental health conditions. Many should have been in secure hospitals. The ombudsman’s recent report on prisoner mental health highlighted the shortage of secure hospital places, lengthy waiting times and the incidence of avoidable suicides while prisoners awaited transfer. Will the Government increase the number of secure hospital places and improve the arrangements for the speedy transfer of prisoners who need them?
Lord Keen of Elie
My Lords, a key aspect of our prison reform programme will be to address offender mental health and improve outcomes for prisoners. That is why we are investing £1.3 billion to modernise the prison estate.