Advertisement
News

Government urged to tackle mental health crisis in prisons

MPs and peers think the next government should treat “shocking” rise in prison self harm and suicides as key priority

Self-harm and suicides are on the rise in prisons in England and Wales, the latest figures show.

And a cross-bench group of MPs and peers think the next government must treat the “shocking” mental health crisis in the prison estate as a key priority.

A joint parliamentary committee on human rights urged the next justice secretary to put forward legislation creating a minimum ratio of prison officers to prisoners. They also recommended giving young offenders and prisoners with mental health issues free phone calls to loved ones.

There were just over 40,000 self-harm incidents last year

The latest official statistics show a total of 113 prisoners had killed themselves over the last 12 months, an increase compared with 102 the previous year.

There were just over 40,000 self-harm incidents last year, a record high and a 24% increase on the 32,000 incidents recorded the year before. Around 2,740 of those cases were required emergency treatment at hospital.

Labour MP Harriet Harman, committee chair, called it an “urgent” issue, and said the next government should try to “end the death toll of people with mental health conditions who take their own lives in our prisons.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Prof Pamela Taylor, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, called for more prison officers and more trained psychiatrists to be able to provide “adequate mental health services…There are far too few for the high number of people in prison.”

The latest numbers show the total prison population in England and Wales stands at a record high of just over 85,500.

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
'Dismay' for disabled and vulnerable households as average annual energy bills to rise to £1,738
Blue flames from a gas hob
Energy bills

'Dismay' for disabled and vulnerable households as average annual energy bills to rise to £1,738

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'
Malala Yousafzai
Activism

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'

Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'
Hazell and her three kids faced homelessness until Shelter stepped in
Renting

Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'
a view from above of an older person with white hair eating out of a pot
Winter fuel payment

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue