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Prison Management

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the mechanisms available for the spread of best practice in effective prison management. [57779]

Fiona Mactaggart: There are a variety of mechanisms for spreading best practice. Reports from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP), Independent Monitoring Boards and Standards Audit Unit highlight aspects of effective practice and these are published for staff, along with items identified by headquarter policy teams. A performance co-ordinator in each area draws on effective practice identified locally and their network meetings are used to disseminate findings more widely. Additionally, best practice is promoted across the contracted estate through quarterly contract review meetings and formal meetings with establishment directors. A contracted prisons conference has taken place for the past two years, showcasing and promoting best practice across the sector.

Prisoners

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the rates of psychotic illness amongst (a) remand prisoners and (b) convicted prisoners; and if he will make a statement. [58295]

Fiona Mactaggart: The information is not available in the form requested.

A survey of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales in 1997, by the Office for National Statistics, indicated that 10 per cent. of remanded and seven per cent, of sentenced men had suffered from a functional psychosis in the year before the survey.

Source:

Psychiatric Morbidity Amongst Prisoners in England and Wales (ONS, 1998)

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicide attempts in (a) men's prisons, (b) women's prisons and (c) young offender institutions were recorded in (i) England, (ii) the North East and (iii) the Tees Valley in each year since 1997. [57070]

Fiona Mactaggart: There is no definition of what constitutes a 'suicide attempt,' as it is very difficult to measure suicidal intent. Data recording incidents of
 
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'attempted suicide' are effectively subsumed within those for self-harm, which cover all acts of self-injury, however serious. The number of recorded incidents of self-harm involving (a) men in English prisons and (b) women in English prisons is shown in the table A: It should be noted with respect to all the tables that a new form for reporting self-harm (the F213SH) was introduced in December 2002. The increase in self-harm incidents from 2003 is likely to be related to the change in reporting, rather than reflect an actual increase in number of self-harm incidents.

The number of recorded incidents of self-harm in English Young Offenders' Institutions (YOls) is shown in the table B. There are no female YOls, so all incidents involve male prisoners.

The number of recorded incidents of self-harm in the North East Area, broken down by gender, is shown in the table C.

The number of recorded incidents of self-harm in YOls in the North East is shown in the table D. All involve male young offenders.

The number of recorded incidents of self-harm in establishments in Tees Valley (i.e. HMYOI Deerbolt, HMP Holme House and HMP Kirklevington) is shown in the table E. All incidents involve male prisoners.
Table A

	Male incidents	Female incidents
1997	1,276	132
1998	2,636	200
1999	2,684	474
2000	3,784	860
2001	5,225	2,110
2001	6,212	3,333
2003	8,298	7,306
2004	8,976	9,662
2005	8,856	12,867

Table B

	Number of incidents
1997	143
1998	277
1999	363
2000	443
2001	444
2002	670
2003	1,119
2004	1,251
2005	1,511

Table C

	Female Incidents	Males Incidents
1997	2	99
1998	5	134
1999	25	155
2000	147	278
2001	356	386
2002	433	421
2003	663	507
2004	1,029	475
2005	1,192	615

 
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Table D

	Number of incidents
1997	7
1998	27
1999	64
2000	95
2001	95
2002	95
2003	160
2004	147
2005	190

Table E

	Deerbolt	Holme House	Kirklevington
1997	4	37	—
1998	3	22	2
1999	5	30	—
2000	11	30	—
2001	2	92	—
2002	11	93	—
2003	68	59	—
2004	59	96	—
2004	100	67	—

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are on suicide watch in (a) men's prisons, (b) women's prisons and (c) young offenders' institutions in (i) England, (ii) the North East and (iii) the Tees Valley. [57072]

Fiona Mactaggart: 'Suicide watch' is not a term used by the Prison Service. The level of observation for any individual prisoner identified to be at risk of suicide or self-harm can vary and is decided ordinarily by a multi-disciplinary case review team.

A proxy measure for the number of prisoners subject to enhanced observation due to their risk of suicide/self-harm may be the number of individuals on open F2052SH/ACCT documents (the care plans for prisoners considered at risk of suicide/self-harm); however, this information is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to reduce the levels of (a) suicides and attempted suicides, (b) violent attacks and (c) self harm in prisons. [57074]

Fiona Mactaggart: A broad, integrated and evidence-based prisoner suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy is in place. The strategy can be summarised as, 'Reducing distress and promoting the well being of all who live and work in prisons.' It operates by embedding 'safer custody' as a current through every area of prison life—including detoxification, healthcare, staff training, and the built environment. The key intervention currently being introduced across public and private prisons is the new care-planning system for at-risk prisoners: Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT). ACCT aims to improve the quality of care by introducing flexible care-planning that is prisoner-centred, supported by improved staff training in assessing and understanding at-risk prisoners.
 
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Comprehensive electronic guidance to staff on managing people who self-harm has been issued; this was developed in close partnership with the Department of Health and the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and aims to be of use to all those working with people who self-harm within a secure environment.

The national Violence Reduction Strategy was launched in May 2004. The national Strategy requires each establishment to have in place a local Violence Reduction strategy appropriate to needs. A whole prison approach is encouraged, with the aim of reducing violence and fear of violence. A focus on personal safety, supporting victims, and repairing the physical and emotional harm caused by violence or abuse, links closely with the suicide prevention strategy.

Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken to prevent those convicted of and imprisoned for hate crimes seeking to indoctrinate other prisoners. [51280]

Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 13 February 2006]: The Prison Service is working to develop a broad based strategic approach to address the problems associated with finding suitable interventions to effectively tackle racist attitudes and behaviours; this includes giving staff information to help them identify racist or other phobic attitudes. Existing risk management processes, in particular cell-sharing risk assessment, help staff to identify individuals who may have racist or homophobic attitudes and make accommodation decisions that reduce the risk of violence motivated by hate.

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