Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of safety and wellbeing measures for people in custody.

The safety of those who live and work in our prisons is our top priority. We continue to deliver on our £100m investment to improve prison security to reduce crime in prison, clamping down on weapons, drugs and phones that fuel prison violence and undermine safety.

The Challenge, Intervention and Support Plan (CSIP) is in place for the effective case-management of those prisoners who are at a raised risk of violence towards others.

To mitigate the impact of the regime restrictions that were introduced in response to COVID-19 on prisoners, we have produced materials to support wellbeing at this particularly difficult time, including a range of in-cell activities.

We have also created a Wellbeing Plan with input from mental health charity Mind. We have implemented a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) document across the prison estate. Revisions include a stronger emphasis on ensuring a person-centred approach and support for at-risk prisoners.

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.