Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential link between the number of unmanned train stations in the UK and the 283 suicides that occurred on mainline rail in 2019-20.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
British Transport Police regularly analyse suicide patterns. The causes of these tragic events are complex and the most significant risk factors relate to mental health. My officials and I work with industry, the British Transport Police and charities to ensure that vulnerable people can be identified and provided the support they need. Staffing and staff training plays a key role in our response, and industry colleagues make approximately 2,000 lifesaving interventions each year which means six lives are saved for everyone lost.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the quality of NHS care for veterans.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Several bespoke veterans’ services have been developed to meet the needs of military personnel, veterans and their families. This includes Op Courage, the new specialist mental health service for veterans, which focuses on those in crisis, at risk of self-harm or suicide, or suffering other problems such as homelessness and addiction. To date, Op Courage has received over 10,000 referrals.
NHS England are also working with the Royal College of General Practitioners to accredit general practitioner practices as ‘veteran friendly’. To date, 982 practices have been accredited and the accreditation scheme is being widened to Primary Care Networks.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their Safety in custody quarterly: update to December 2020, published on 29 April, what steps they are taking to address self-harm in women’s prisons.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
We recognise that the level of self-harm in the women’s estate is too high and are determined to reduce this. A task force was set up in April 2020 in response to our increasing concerns about the level of self-harm in the women’s estate. We know that many of the drivers and protective factors linked to women’s risk of self-harm in prisons have been affected by Covid-19 and the restricted regimes that have been put in place to control the spread of infection.
The task force worked to introduce a number of specific interventions to counteract the impact of Covid-19 on the women’s estate, including bespoke well-being checks, increased phone credit and more access to video calls with family and friends.
We have prioritised women’s prisons for the roll out of the revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) multi-disciplinary case management system used in prisons to support people at risk of suicide and self-harm. We also introduced the Offender Management in Custody model in the female estate in April. This will provide each woman with a dedicated key worker or equivalent who will be able to better support them and identify concerns at an early stage so that women can receive the right support at the right time.
We have produced a range of products to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate risks and promote wellbeing. We have developed new guidance for staff on understanding and supporting someone who is self-harming. We continue to make the Samaritans phone service available and are working with this charity to ensure that the Listener peer support scheme continues to function effectively.
Importantly, we have also invested £5m in alternatives to prison, including new women’s centres which help people address issues such as alcohol or drug addiction which leads them to crime.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what specialist training is given to staff in prisons to handle individuals in custody who are experiencing mental health crises; what the procedure is for assessing the need for use of physical force on those individuals; and whether expert opinions from mental health professionals are sought in dealing with those cases.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
This government takes the mental health needs of prisoners very seriously and to keep them safe and well, prison officers must have the skills, knowledge and confidence to offer support, alongside healthcare professionals.
Improved mental health awareness training has been developed as part of Prison Officer Entry Level Training and refresher training for existing staff. We are currently developing an improved modular safety training package. This includes an enhanced mental health training module, building on the introductory module for staff supporting individuals with complex needs. Resources also include a suicide and self-harm learning tool, developed in partnership with Samaritans, and a range of guidance relating to known risk factors.
Any use of force must be necessary, reasonable and proportionate to the seriousness of the circumstances. A clinical assessment must take place to determine whether the prisoner has capacity. If the prisoner has been assessed as not having capacity, then the Mental Capacity Act 2005 makes provision for the person to be treated and, if necessary, for force or restraint to be used. When considering the options, healthcare/clinical staff will make the decision and liaise closely with prison staff on the level and type of restraint that might be used.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the latest data on the number of prisoners reported to have self-harmed while serving imprisonment for public protection sentences on recall.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Figures for the number of self-harm incidents by recalled Imprisonment for Public Protection prisoners for each of the past three years are shown below:
2018 = 584
2019 = 743
2020 = 761
We are focussing our efforts to address the levels of self-harm across the prison population, and are under no illusions about the impact of the measures which were put in place to protect lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, so we have made prisoners’ safety and wellbeing our priority.
We have produced a range of products to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate risks and promote wellbeing. Over 25,000 new and existing staff have received self-harm and suicide prevention training to help them better support prisoners with complex needs. We’ve enabled continued family contact through more than 1,600 secure mobile phones and rolled out secure video call technology into every single prison in the male, female and youth estate. Each prisoner is also currently given additional PIN credit per week. We are also delivering more in cell-activities such as distraction packs, supplementary food packs, and additional educational materials to mitigate the impact of isolation.
We have renewed our partnership with the Samaritans who are providing the excellent Listeners scheme, which trains selected prisoners to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.
We have prioritised the roll-out of the revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) multi-disciplinary case management system used in prisons to support people at risk of suicide and self-harm.
We have delivered improvements to the way we support, and case manage prisoners throughout their sentences by the significant investment in and changes introduced by the new Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model. This will provide each prisoner with a dedicated key worker who will be able to better support them and identify concerns at an early stage so that they can receive the right support at the right time.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on a scrutiny visit to HMP High Down by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (23 March and 7 – 8 April 2021), what steps he is taking to (a) improve the regularity and quality of prisoner welfare checks, (b) improve the quality of support for those at risk of suicide and self-harm, (c) enable prisoners to receive a daily shower, (d) help ensure that equality and diversity work is completed, (e) improve the quality of healthcare in prisons, (f) help ensure that there is consistent leadership of those healthcare services, (g) tackle staff shortages in those healthcare services, (h) help ensure that prisoners have access to work as covid-19 risks reduce, (i) increase contact between prison offender managers and prisoners, (j) reduce the backlog of assessments of prisoners’ risk and needs and (k) help ensure that calls of prisoners who require public protection monitoring are effectively managed.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice welcomes the findings of HMIP’s report and takes the concerns raised seriously. The Inspectorate found positive practices during their visit, but we recognise that the establishment still has a long way to go. Some of the issues raised have been exacerbated by the impact of Covid 19 and are expected to improve as regime restrictions are lifted.
Measures to address some of the issues have already been initiated, such as a review of welfare checks and the implementation of a healthcare action plan agreed between HMP High Down, NHS England Commissioners and Healthcare Providers. Funding is also now in place for a new workshop that will provide additional activity places and will assist men in developing transferable skills for employment on release. Recruitment and training are being undertaken to fill vacancies and improve offender management processes such as public protection monitoring, risk assessment, and increased contact between prisoners and their Prison Offender Managers. Findings from HMIP Scrutiny Visits are followed up with each establishment 6 weeks following the HMIP visit and Prison Group Directors monitor progress locally in their areas.
We are committed to making all our prisons decent and safe for all those who live and work there. Further easing of the restrictions will enable us to work on embedding additional improvements. We will continue to ensure that action is taken to improve conditions for those in our prisons and their outcomes on release.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that people who have attempted suicide receive support to develop a safety plan that helps them to tackle their suicidal ideation.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
From late 2021/22, NHS England and NHS Improvement intend to launch a self-harm Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) scheme, which enables commissioners to link a proportion of providers' income to the achievement of a quality improvement goal. This CQUIN will bring focus to the quality of interventions provided by mental health liaison services in emergency departments to ensure they are concordant with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, including offering:
- biopsychosocial assessment of needs;
- risk assessment; and
- developing with patients a personalised and integrated care and risk management plan.
The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, which has recommended that all patients are followed up within three days of discharge from in-patient care. NHS England and NHS Improvement have now included 72-hour follow-ups in the standard National Health Service contract and regularly monitors the performance of providers.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what additional steps his Department is taking to support the mental health of prisoners during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, which sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, was published on GOV.UK on 2 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services
Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.
We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.
We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.
Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support the wellbeing of prisoners that are unable to receive social visitors due to covid-19 health restrictions.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, which sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, was published on GOV.UK on 2 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services
Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.
We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.
We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.
Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate visits to prisons that are not currently allowing social visitors; and what steps he is taking to support prisons in reaching stage 3 of the covid-19 national framework for prison regimes and services.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, which sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, was published on GOV.UK on 2 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services
Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.
We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.
We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.
Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.