Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safety of children online, including measures to combat cyberbullying, online grooming, and exposure to harmful content.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The strongest protections in the Online Safety Bill are for children. The Bill will require all services in scope to protect their users from illegal content. This includes all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse, including grooming, which have been designated as priority offences under the Bill. This means all in scope companies must take proactive, preventative measures to limit people’s exposure to this content and criminal behaviour.
In addition, where content is harmful to children but falls below the criminal threshold, service providers which are likely to be accessed by children will have to take action to protect children from encountering it. This includes cyberbullying, pornography and content which promotes suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. These duties extend to ensuring that systems for targeting content to children, such as the use of algorithms, and other features and functionalities on the service such as live streaming and private messaging, protect children from harmful material.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of detainees' access to medical services in the Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In relation to the provision of healthcare in immigration removal centres (IRC), we take our responsibilities towards detained individuals’ health and welfare seriously. All IRCs have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses commissioned by NHS England and delivered to the equivalent quality standards as services are in the community.
Every detained individual arriving at an IRC receives an initial healthcare screening within 2 hours of their arrival which identifies any immediate or long-term healthcare risks. Unless they decline, detained individuals in IRCs are given an appointment with a doctor within 24 hours. Clinical pathways into other healthcare services are initiated at this point depending on the outcomes of the reception screen, for example into mental health services. Detained individuals have full access to the 24-hour on-site healthcare team during their stay in the IRC. Continuation of healthcare provision is included in contingency planning to ensure access to healthcare in unexpected incidents or circumstances.
All incidents of self-harm are treated very seriously, and every step is taken to prevent incidents of this nature. The Home Office requires IRC service providers to record management information on the number of incidents of self-harm that have required medical treatment. Information on incidents of self-harm which do not require medical treatment, or specifically, where the intent of the self-harm attempt is suicide, is not readily available from central statistical records.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of deaths of people detained under immigration powers. Data for each year from 2017, are published in Migration Statistics Det_05 of the Detention summary tables. In the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 (the latest two-year period for which published information is available), there were no deaths of individuals detained in the Heathrow IRCs. The next annual data set regarding deaths of people detained under immigration powers, covering 2022, will be published later this year.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of (a) self-harm, (b) suicide and (c) attempted suicide have been been recorded at Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre in each of the last two years.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In relation to the provision of healthcare in immigration removal centres (IRC), we take our responsibilities towards detained individuals’ health and welfare seriously. All IRCs have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses commissioned by NHS England and delivered to the equivalent quality standards as services are in the community.
Every detained individual arriving at an IRC receives an initial healthcare screening within 2 hours of their arrival which identifies any immediate or long-term healthcare risks. Unless they decline, detained individuals in IRCs are given an appointment with a doctor within 24 hours. Clinical pathways into other healthcare services are initiated at this point depending on the outcomes of the reception screen, for example into mental health services. Detained individuals have full access to the 24-hour on-site healthcare team during their stay in the IRC. Continuation of healthcare provision is included in contingency planning to ensure access to healthcare in unexpected incidents or circumstances.
All incidents of self-harm are treated very seriously, and every step is taken to prevent incidents of this nature. The Home Office requires IRC service providers to record management information on the number of incidents of self-harm that have required medical treatment. Information on incidents of self-harm which do not require medical treatment, or specifically, where the intent of the self-harm attempt is suicide, is not readily available from central statistical records.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of deaths of people detained under immigration powers. Data for each year from 2017, are published in Migration Statistics Det_05 of the Detention summary tables. In the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 (the latest two-year period for which published information is available), there were no deaths of individuals detained in the Heathrow IRCs. The next annual data set regarding deaths of people detained under immigration powers, covering 2022, will be published later this year.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to prevent children from accessing potentially harmful content online.
Answered by Paul Scully
Protecting children is at the heart of the Government’s Online Safety Bill. All companies in scope will need to take robust steps to protect children from illegal content and criminal behaviour on their services. In addition, services which are likely to be accessed by children, which will include social media platforms, will be required to provide safety measures for child users to protect them from inappropriate and harmful content or activity, such as pornography, bullying and content that promotes or glorifies self-harm, suicide and eating disorders. If they fail to do so, they will be subject to tough enforcement action by the regulator, Ofcom.
Ahead of the Online Safety Bill, video-sharing platform (VSP) providers currently regulated by the VSP regime are required to take ‘appropriate measures’ to protect under-18s from potentially harmful material. Appropriate measures could include, but are not limited to, age assurance, parental controls, and comprehensive terms and conditions.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help prevent children accessing inappropriate material on social media.
Answered by Paul Scully
Protecting children is at the heart of the Government’s Online Safety Bill. All companies in scope will need to take robust steps to protect children from illegal content and criminal behaviour on their services. In addition, services which are likely to be accessed by children, which will include social media platforms, will be required to provide safety measures for child users to protect them from inappropriate and harmful content or activity, such as pornography, bullying and content that promotes or glorifies self-harm, suicide and eating disorders. If they fail to do so, they will be subject to tough enforcement action by the regulator, Ofcom.
Ahead of the Online Safety Bill, video-sharing platform (VSP) providers currently regulated by the VSP regime are required to take ‘appropriate measures’ to protect under-18s from potentially harmful material. Appropriate measures could include, but are not limited to, age assurance, parental controls, and comprehensive terms and conditions.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to ensure the consistent implementation of adequate risk management processes for vulnerable service personnel.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Across the Armed Forces, there are extensive medical and welfare systems that offer support for those in need, provided by the Chain of Command, medical staff, welfare and pastoral staff. The Ministry of Defence also works closely with the National Health Service, the Defence Medical Services, Service charities, third parties and the single Services to provide 24-hour mental health services accessible for all Armed Forces personnel. This includes a 24-hour mental health helpline, funded by Defence, and delivered by Combat Stress.
Each Service also has dedicated suicide and self-harm policies and risk management procedures tailored to their specific nature, all of which are regularly reviewed and updated. This includes Vulnerability Risk Management training.
The Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan, published in April 2023, also seeks to enhance organisational processes to support those at risk.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for Health and Social Care to develop the new National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The DWP is working closely with the DHSC on the development of the national suicide prevention strategy. This is through our membership of the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group.
To support the DHSC’s development of the strategy, we have shared the DWP’s response to instances where our customers indicate either suicide or serious self-harm in the form of our ‘6 Point Plan’.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the safety of women in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ensuring the safety of staff and prisoners whilst in custody is a key priority and we continue to do everything we can to improve the safety outcomes of women in prison.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper, published in December 2021, set out our approach for women’s prisons; one which is trauma responsive, recognises the distinct nature of women’s experience in custody, and provides the appropriate levels of support, particularly for pregnant women and those with young children. In January 2023 we published our Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan 2022-25, which set out our priorities for delivering the aims of the strategy, including better outcomes for women in custody.
Women in prison often face complex issues including mental health, self-harm, trauma, and separation from children. We are investing up to £14 million to support improvements in safety in women’s prisons between 2022-25.
We set up a Women’s Estate Self-Harm Task Force in April 2020 to help reduce levels of self-harm. To date, the Taskforce has:
o recruited psychologists to support women with the most complex needs;
o developed bespoke selection and assessment criteria for staff in women’s prisons and developed bespoke staff training for staff working with female prisoners which is being rolled out across the women’s estate;
o implemented a gender-specific Offender Management in Custody model to provide each woman with dedicated support; and
o jointly commissioned a review of health and social care in the women’s estate with NHS England to better understand the health needs in the women’s estate.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, steps he plans to take to improve the safety of people in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ensuring the safety of staff and prisoners whilst in custody is a key priority and we continue to do everything we can to improve the safety outcomes of everybody in the prison estate.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our vision for prisons of the future, including our ambitious plans to make prisons safer for staff and prisoners.
The right actions to improve safety fundamentally centre on supporting prisons to maintain key safety interventions. We have implemented a strengthened case management approach for prisoners who are assessed as at risk of suicide and self-harm as well as implemented one-to-one key work.
We have announced additional investment in our workforce, expansion of the prison estate and access to healthcare that are vital for delivering safer prisons. Between October 2016 and December 2022, the number of full-time equivalent officers at band 3-5 increased by 3,677. This means staff can provide more one-to-one support for prisoners and better monitor risk to prevent harm.
We have also invested £100 million to improve security in prisons by clamping down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel crime and violence behind bars.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there has been a decrease in the rates of self-harm, assault and suicide in prisons since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions at the end of March 2022.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The following tables show the rates of self-harm, assault and self-inflicted deaths in prisons.
For deaths the rate covers 12 monthly data to March for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. For self-harm and assaults this covers 9 months for April to December (latest available) for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Table 1; Rate of self-inflicted deaths per 1,000 prisoners, England and Wales1, April 2019 to March 2023
Year | Self-inflicted deaths2 |
2019-20 | 1.0 |
2020-21 | 1.0 |
2021-22 | 1.0 |
2022-23 | 1.0 |
(1) Figures include incidents at HMPPS operated Immigration Removal Centres and during contracted out escorts, but exclude incidents at Medway STC
(2) All classifications of deaths remain provisional until confirmed at inquest.
Data Sources and Quality
These figures are derived from the HMPPS Deaths in Prison Custody database. As classification of deaths may change following inquest or as new information emerges, numbers may change from time to time.
Table 2; Rate of self-harm and assault incidents per 1,000 prisoners1,2, England and Wales, April 2019 to December 20223
Time Period | Self-harm4 | Assaults |
April to December 2019 | 583 | 272 |
April to December 2020 | 503 | 170 |
April to December 2021 | 528 | 196 |
April to December 2022 | 530 | 201 |
|
|
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(1) Figures include incidents at HMPPS operated Immigration Removal Centres and during contracted out escorts, but exclude incidents at Medway STC.
(2) Figures exclude incidents occurring within the youth estate. The youth estate includes incidents occurring within Cookham Wood, Werrington and Wetherby, as well as the youth wing at Feltham and Parc. Figures for incidents occurring within the youth estate are published within the ‘Safety in the children and young people secure estate’ statistics bulletin via the following link - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/safety-in-the-youth-secure-estate-bulletin
(3) The rates are based on the number of incidents and average prison population for the 9 months from April to December each year.
(4) In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count self-harm incidents with absolute accuracy. In prison custody, however, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to be taken when comparing figures shown here with other sources where data may be less complete.
Data Sources and Quality
These figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing returns but the detail is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although shown to the last case, the figures may not be accurate to that level.