Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to protect prison and custody staff from potential assault in plans to compel people to attend their sentencing.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Violence against our dedicated staff will never be tolerated. We are working closely with the Police and the CPS to ensure the successful prosecutions of prisoners who assault staff along with the strongest possible punishment being imposed. In the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Government doubled the maximum penalty for assaulting an emergency worker, including prison officers and officers exercising custody functions, to 2 years’ imprisonment. We have rolled out a next generation Body Worn Video Camera solution which has increased the availability across public sector prisons from 6,000 to over 13,000 cameras, with every band 3-5 officer on shift being provided with a camera. The cameras will provide high-quality evidence to support prosecutions against prisoners who commit assaults. Additionally, we have invested £100 million to bolster prison security to clamp down on violence, self-harm and crime behind bars.
Our plans to compel attendance at sentencing hearings will set in legislation the power of custody officers to use reasonable force to make criminal appear in the dock. The decision on whether to use force would remain with custody officers and continue to be decided on a case-by-case basis where it is necessary, reasonable, and proportionate.
Courts will continue to be mindful of the impact that violent and disorderly defendants have on the safety of custody officers and the disruption and stress they can cause to victims and their families. An offender who refuses to attend their sentencing hearing where ordered to do so, including by disorderly conduct, will face up to an additional 2 years in custody.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 5 of the British Medical Journal article entitled Impact of Universal Credit in North East England, published in 2019, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that article's findings on the impact of Universal Credit deductions on (a) incidences of self-harm, (b) suicidal ideation, (c) alcohol and substance-use, (d) debt and (e) use of foodbanks in the North East of England.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No assessment has been made.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training Child Maintenance Service caseworkers receive.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All Child Maintenance Caseworkers receive 5 days of Child Maintenance Service (CMS) Gateway learning in the classroom, regardless of which part of the business they will be working in. This includes core digital skills, management of customers security, management of unacceptable customer behaviour and how to recognise and respond appropriately to domestic abuse.
CMS colleagues then receive up to 15 days of technical learning in the classroom, dependant on the role they will undertake. This includes management of customer information and queries on the telephone, in writing and digitally. Learning is also provided to recognise, manage and signpost customers with complex needs, for example living costs or threats of suicide or self-harm.
In addition, learners receive workplace support to embed learning. This is interspersed with the classroom learning and is completed by dedicated coaches who use live work to enhance the classroom theory. The ratio is 1 day classroom learning to 3 days workplace support.
Both classroom learning and workplace support can be flexible and extra time or support can be provided if learners have any additional needs. Classroom learning is normally completed in a ratio of 1 learning delivery officer to 12 learners. Workplace support is a ratio of 1 workplace support coach to 6 learners.
Learners also undertake the DWP Fundamental Learning Journey (FLJ) which is a standardised approach to learning that ensures you have the right level of skills and knowledge to deliver excellent service regardless of your role within DWP Service Delivery. The journey emphasises skills alongside technical knowledge required, making our service more consistent for customers. All the learning in the FLJ is expected to be completed within 26 weeks of the start date. The learning is flexible, to fit around any technical learning that is undertaken.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths occurred in England and Wales in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022, where malnutrition was either the cause of death or was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the response attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of St Albans
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
25 July 2023
Dear Lord Bishop,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many deaths occurred in England and Wales in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021 and (4) 2022 where malnutrition was either the cause of death or was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate (HL9519); and how many deaths that occurred in England and Wales in the past four years mentioned gambling anywhere on the death certificate (HL9520).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. Causes mentioned on the death certificate are converted to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, with the underlying cause of death defined as the disease or injury that initiated the events that directly lead to the death. At the ONS, we use the term “due to” to refer to the underlying cause of a death and the term “involving” where a cause is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate.
The ICD codes for malnutrition are E40 to E46, which come under the endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases sub-chapter. This consists of:
• E40- Kwashiorkor
• E41- Nutritional Marasmus
• E42- Marasmic kwashiorkor
• E43- Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition
• E44- Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree
• E45- Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition
• E46- Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition
Table 1 shows the number of deaths due to and involving malnutrition ICD-10 codes, that occurred from 2019 to 2022, and were registered by 7 July 2023, in England and Wales. Deaths due to malnutrition are very uncommon; mortality data and hospital admissions both show that malnutrition is usually accompanied with several other diagnoses. Further information on the nature of malnutrition as a cause of death can be found on our blog [1] .
The ICD codes for gambling consist of:
• Z72.6- Gambling and betting
• F63.0- Pathological gambling
There were no deaths in the past four years involving gambling ICD-10 codes registered in England and Wales. While these codes exist, they are likely to be used only in the case of medically diagnosed gambling addiction. To identify some deaths involving gambling, we can also use the coroner’s text report from deaths registered involving suicide (ICD codes X60 to X84, Y10 to Y34). It is possible that more suicides were related to gambling, but this cannot be definitively stated, as not all the circumstances are necessarily known or reported in the death registration by the coroner. Table 2 shows the number of deaths where gambling was mentioned in the coroner’s text, that occurred from 2019 to 2022, and were registered by 31 December 2022 [2] , registered in England and Wales.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Numbers of deaths due to and involving malnutrition, deaths occurring from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022, England and Wales [3,4,5,6].
Year | Due to malnutrition | Involving malnutrition |
2019 | 76 | 390 |
2020 | 78 | 383 |
2021 | 85 | 398 |
2022 | 67 | 386 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
Table 2: Numbers of deaths involving intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent where gambling was mentioned in the coroner’s text, deaths occurring from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022, England and Wales [4,7,8].
Year | Involving gambling |
2019 | 4 |
2020 | 4 |
2021 | 1 |
2022 | 0 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
[2] For information on the impact of registration delays please see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/impactofregistrationdelaysonmortalitystatisticsinenglandandwales/latest
[3] Figures are for deaths occurring in each period and registered by 7 July 2023.
[4] Figures include deaths of non-residents.
[5] International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) codes are as follows; E40, Kwashiorkor; E41, Nutritional marasmus; E42, Marasmic kwashiorkor; E43, Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition; E44, Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree; E45, Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition; E46, Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition.
[6] Number of deaths by ICD-10 code are available through our explorable dataset NOMIS from 2013 onwards, this can be accessed here: Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)
[7] Figures are for deaths occurring in each period, and registered by 31 December 2022; death registration data for 2023 are provisional and do not yet provide coroner’s text information.
[8] International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) codes are as follows; X60 to X84 and Y10 to Y34.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths that occurred in England and Wales in the past four years mentioned gambling anywhere on the death certificate.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the response attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of St Albans
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
25 July 2023
Dear Lord Bishop,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many deaths occurred in England and Wales in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021 and (4) 2022 where malnutrition was either the cause of death or was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate (HL9519); and how many deaths that occurred in England and Wales in the past four years mentioned gambling anywhere on the death certificate (HL9520).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. Causes mentioned on the death certificate are converted to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, with the underlying cause of death defined as the disease or injury that initiated the events that directly lead to the death. At the ONS, we use the term “due to” to refer to the underlying cause of a death and the term “involving” where a cause is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate.
The ICD codes for malnutrition are E40 to E46, which come under the endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases sub-chapter. This consists of:
• E40- Kwashiorkor
• E41- Nutritional Marasmus
• E42- Marasmic kwashiorkor
• E43- Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition
• E44- Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree
• E45- Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition
• E46- Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition
Table 1 shows the number of deaths due to and involving malnutrition ICD-10 codes, that occurred from 2019 to 2022, and were registered by 7 July 2023, in England and Wales. Deaths due to malnutrition are very uncommon; mortality data and hospital admissions both show that malnutrition is usually accompanied with several other diagnoses. Further information on the nature of malnutrition as a cause of death can be found on our blog [1] .
The ICD codes for gambling consist of:
• Z72.6- Gambling and betting
• F63.0- Pathological gambling
There were no deaths in the past four years involving gambling ICD-10 codes registered in England and Wales. While these codes exist, they are likely to be used only in the case of medically diagnosed gambling addiction. To identify some deaths involving gambling, we can also use the coroner’s text report from deaths registered involving suicide (ICD codes X60 to X84, Y10 to Y34). It is possible that more suicides were related to gambling, but this cannot be definitively stated, as not all the circumstances are necessarily known or reported in the death registration by the coroner. Table 2 shows the number of deaths where gambling was mentioned in the coroner’s text, that occurred from 2019 to 2022, and were registered by 31 December 2022 [2] , registered in England and Wales.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Numbers of deaths due to and involving malnutrition, deaths occurring from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022, England and Wales [3,4,5,6].
Year | Due to malnutrition | Involving malnutrition |
2019 | 76 | 390 |
2020 | 78 | 383 |
2021 | 85 | 398 |
2022 | 67 | 386 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
Table 2: Numbers of deaths involving intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent where gambling was mentioned in the coroner’s text, deaths occurring from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022, England and Wales [4,7,8].
Year | Involving gambling |
2019 | 4 |
2020 | 4 |
2021 | 1 |
2022 | 0 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
[2] For information on the impact of registration delays please see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/impactofregistrationdelaysonmortalitystatisticsinenglandandwales/latest
[3] Figures are for deaths occurring in each period and registered by 7 July 2023.
[4] Figures include deaths of non-residents.
[5] International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) codes are as follows; E40, Kwashiorkor; E41, Nutritional marasmus; E42, Marasmic kwashiorkor; E43, Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition; E44, Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree; E45, Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition; E46, Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition.
[6] Number of deaths by ICD-10 code are available through our explorable dataset NOMIS from 2013 onwards, this can be accessed here: Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)
[7] Figures are for deaths occurring in each period, and registered by 31 December 2022; death registration data for 2023 are provisional and do not yet provide coroner’s text information.
[8] International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) codes are as follows; X60 to X84 and Y10 to Y34.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work is being done in prisons to identify victims of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome; and what steps they are taking to introduce appropriate management and treatment regimes for those prisoners identified.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All people in prison receive an early health assessment through a reception screening process. Every person receives a first and second stage health assessment, which incorporates a mental health screening in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. This screening includes questions and actions relating to their risk of self-harm and/or suicide, learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders.
For women who are pregnant and in prison, a full health assessment is undertaken. Any risks, such as alcohol dependency which could lead to foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), should be monitored and managed by the healthcare team, including midwife support. Currently there is no specific treatment for FASD, but where a baby is at risk of FASD, this will form part of the birth plan with the hospital.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pupils were involved in self-harm incidents in each of the two years (a) before and (b) after the introduction of relationships, sex and health education in schools.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The requested data is not available as health service datasets in England do not record whether a person is a school pupil.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many internal process reviews her Department has (a) started and (b) completed on incidences of (i) death or (ii) serious harm between July 2022 and June 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Information on how many cases have been accepted to be taken forward for a full Internal Process Review (IPR), and where these were referred either due to customer death or harm, is included within this year’s Annual Report and Accounts, available at:
DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
This includes information on cases accepted for an IPR between July 2022 and March 2023. Information in relation to April to June 2023 will be published in next year’s Accounts.
Information on how many IPRs have been completed between July 2022 and June 2023, where these were referred either due to customer death or harm is set out in the table below:
| July 2022 – June 2023 |
Customer Death[1] | 47 |
Customer Harm[2] | 14 |
1 Customer Death includes the categories: death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide.
2 Customer Harm includes the categories: self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle cyber bullying in schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, including cyberbullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable. It can have a devastating effect on individuals, harm their education, and have serious and lasting consequences for their mental health.
All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted.
We recognise that bullying of any kind can now just as easily occur online as face-to-face. Cyberbullying can be a means by which face-to face-bullying is extended beyond the school day and by which bullying can start online and follow the child into school.
The department is providing over £3 million of funding between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024 to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
In November 2018, the department published ’Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including sexual bullying and sexual harassment. It will help schools to identify the various elements that make up a whole school approach, consider gaps in their current practice, and get further support. Respectful School Communities is available at: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/.
We are also making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe, and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and difference, and to include teaching about online safety and harms.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department is taking to tackle bullying in schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, including cyberbullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable. It can have a devastating effect on individuals, harm their education, and have serious and lasting consequences for their mental health.
All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted.
We recognise that bullying of any kind can now just as easily occur online as face-to-face. Cyberbullying can be a means by which face-to face-bullying is extended beyond the school day and by which bullying can start online and follow the child into school.
The department is providing over £3 million of funding between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024 to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
In November 2018, the department published ’Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including sexual bullying and sexual harassment. It will help schools to identify the various elements that make up a whole school approach, consider gaps in their current practice, and get further support. Respectful School Communities is available at: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/.
We are also making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe, and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and difference, and to include teaching about online safety and harms.