Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) how many prisons in England have undertaken voluntary self-assessment against the Dying Well in Custody Charter since 2024, and (b) what plans are in place to ensure that the Charter is implemented consistently by all prisons and prison healthcare providers, as recommended by the Chief Medical Officer, and how implementation will be monitored.

HM Prison & Probation Service, in partnership with the NHS, has revised the Dying Well in Custody Charter Self-Assessment Toolkit. This voluntary toolkit includes good practice examples and is designed to support local partnership activity.

Information on how many prisons have undertaken voluntary self-assessment using the toolkit is not held centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice is developing an Older Prisoners Strategy which will include advice on arrangements for supporting elderly prisoners including end of life care.