Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so how, their policies towards suicide prevention in prisons differ between remand and convicted prisoners.

The table below sets out the number of self-inflicted deaths of remand prisoners in the ten years to December 2021. It also shows the percentage of all such deaths that were of remand prisoners.

Our figures refer to self-inflicted deaths, rather than suicides. Self-inflicted deaths include any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life, irrespective of intent. This includes not only suicides but also accidental deaths as a result of the person’s own actions. We use this classification because we cannot always know whether someone intended to take their own life. Those are ultimately decisions for coroners, who investigate all deaths in custody. For similar reasons, we cannot identify “attempted suicides” separately from other forms of self-harm, as we may not know the prisoner’s intention.

HM Prison & Probation Service does not operate a different approach to the prevention of suicide and self-harm among remand prisoners. All prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide are supported equally, regardless of their situation. We recognise that remand is a known risk factor for self-harm and support is tailored to prisoners’ needs, particularly in the early days and weeks of custody. Following the unavoidable closure of courts in response to Covid-19, we are taking positive action to ensure more cases are heard and therefore to reduce the number of remand prisoners. This includes extending 32 nightingale courtrooms this year, installing video link equipment in all courts and increasing its capacity in prisons, removing the limit on Crown Court sitting days during 2021/22, and continuing to give priority to cases involving custody time limits.

Self-inflicted deaths of remand prisoners, 2012 to 2021