Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of self-inflicted deaths of prisoners in HMP Wandsworth.

Every death in custody is a tragedy and we continue to do all we can to improve the safety of prisoners.

HMP Wandsworth entered the HMPPS cluster death support process in 2023, and a task force chaired by the Prison Group Director for London has been overseeing the implementation of an action plan to address the issues arising from self-inflicted deaths. Ligature-resistant cells have been provided to Wandsworth as part of this process, among other actions including strengthening the local safety team and increasing the number of Samaritans trained Listeners who provide emotional support to fellow prisoners.

Each death is the subject of an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) and a Coroner's inquest, and action is being taken to address the findings and recommendations from these investigations to help improve safety outcomes at Wandsworth.