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79164

registered interest
date	21/07/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	UN Convention against Torture
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government which member states other than the United Kingdom which have ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment have failed to declare acceptance of the right of individual petition under Article 22 of the Convention.
tabling member printed	Lord Avebury
uin	HL1325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2014 answer text <p>According to the United Nations’ website (<a href="http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx" target="_blank">http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx</a> - accessed on 23 July 2014) on the ratification status of the Convention, 65 States (out of 155 States Parties to the Convention) accepted the right of individual petition under Article 22; this suggests that 90 States, listed on the website, have not yet done so. The UK is committed to a strong and effective international human rights system and we are state party to a number of international human rights treaties including the UN Convention Against Torture. The UK Government however remains to be convinced of the added practical value to people in the UK of rights of individual petitions to the UN, considering that the UK has strong and effective laws under which individuals may seek remedies in the courts or in tribunals if they feel that their rights have been breached. To date, the UK's experience under the two optional protocols it has ratified (in 2004 to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and in 2009 to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) has not provided sufficient empirical evidence to establish the practical benefits of becoming a State Party to a further individual petition mechanism to the UN.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks grouped question UIN HL1327 question first answered 28/07/2014 11:55:23 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	1665 label Biography information for Lord Avebury

79165

registered interest
date	21/07/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	UN Convention against Torture
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken or propose to take to remedy the shortcomings identified by the United Nations Committee Against Torture in the United Kingdom’s compliance with the United Nations Convention against Torture in May 2013 in relation to (1) the alleged torture of Tamil returnees from the United Kingdom, (2) the lack of accountability in respect of allegations of United Kingdom complicity in torture abroad, (3) the detention of torture survivors in the Detained Fast Track System, (4) the lowering of the evidential threshold before a suspected torture survivor is deemed unsuitable for the Detained Fast Track System, (5) the application of Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules, (6) the exemption in section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 which provides a defence of lawful authority, justification or excuse to a charge of official intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, and (7) its concerns about section 5 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 which provides immunity to intelligence officers once a warrant has been signed by a government minister giving them lawful authority.
tabling member printed	Lord Avebury
uin	HL1326
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2014 answer text <p>The UK Government does not engage in torture, or solicit, encourage or condone its use, and works closely with its international partners to prevent torture occurring anywhere in the world. As requested by the Committee Against Torture, the UK Government submitted, on 31 May 2014, follow up information (available at <a href="http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/human-rights/cat-300520140-uk-follow-up-information.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/human-rights/cat-300520140-uk-follow-up-information.pdf</a>) on issues raised by the Committee during the examination of the UK in May 2013. At the Committee’s request, the UK Government will provide its 6<sup>th</sup> periodic report under the Convention Against Torture, addressing the Committee’s list of issues, in May 2017.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 28/07/2014 12:00:34 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	1665 label Biography information for Lord Avebury

79166

registered interest
date	21/07/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	UN Convention against Torture
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will allow the right of individual petition under Article 22 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.
tabling member printed	Lord Avebury
uin	HL1327
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2014 answer text <p>According to the United Nations’ website (<a href="http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx" target="_blank">http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx</a> - accessed on 23 July 2014) on the ratification status of the Convention, 65 States (out of 155 States Parties to the Convention) accepted the right of individual petition under Article 22; this suggests that 90 States, listed on the website, have not yet done so. The UK is committed to a strong and effective international human rights system and we are state party to a number of international human rights treaties including the UN Convention Against Torture. The UK Government however remains to be convinced of the added practical value to people in the UK of rights of individual petitions to the UN, considering that the UK has strong and effective laws under which individuals may seek remedies in the courts or in tribunals if they feel that their rights have been breached. To date, the UK's experience under the two optional protocols it has ratified (in 2004 to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and in 2009 to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) has not provided sufficient empirical evidence to establish the practical benefits of becoming a State Party to a further individual petition mechanism to the UN.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks grouped question UIN HL1325 question first answered 28/07/2014 11:55:24 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	1665 label Biography information for Lord Avebury

76546

registered interest
date	08/07/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Death
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners have died in custody in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years; and what the percentage change has been year on year for the same period.
tabling member printed	Lord Knight of Weymouth
uin	HL890
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2014 answer text <p>The government is committed to open and transparent reporting of deaths in custody and publish statistics on deaths in prison custody in England and Wales quarterly in the National Statistics “Safety in Custody” bulletin. This statistical series can be found at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The number of (i) deaths in prison custody and year-on-year change is presented in table 1. The number of (ii) self-inflicted deaths in prison custody and year-on-year change is presented in table 2.</p><p>Figures are provided for England and Wales only. Figures are not published by the Ministry of Justice for other areas of the United Kingdom as the judicial systems are a devolved matter for the respective administrations.</p><p> </p><p>In 2013 there were 2.55 deaths per 1,000 prisoners and between 2008 and 2013 less than 1 prisoner in every 1,000 died from a self-inflicted death. The rate of self-inflicted deaths was consistently above 1 death per 1,000 prisoners between 1993 and 2005, peaking at 1.4 self-inflicted deaths per 1,000 prisoners in 1999.</p><p> </p><p>Table 1: Number of deaths and year-on-year percentage change of deaths in prison custody</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number</p></td><td><p>Year-on-year change (%)</p></td><td><p>Death rate per 1,000 prisoners</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004</p></td><td><p>208</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>2.79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>175</p></td><td><p>-16%</p></td><td><p>2.30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>153</p></td><td><p>-13%</p></td><td><p>1.96</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>185</p></td><td><p>21%</p></td><td><p>2.30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>166</p></td><td><p>-10%</p></td><td><p>2.01</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>169</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td><td><p>2.02</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>198</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td><td><p>2.34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>192</p></td><td><p>-3%</p></td><td><p>2.24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>192</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td><td><p>2.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>215</p></td><td><p>12%</p></td><td><p>2.55</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Table 2: Number of self-inflicted deaths and year-on-year percentage change of self-inflicted deaths in prison custody</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number</p></td><td><p>Year-on-year change (%)</p></td><td><p>Self-inflicted deaths per 1,000 prisoners</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004</p></td><td><p>96</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>1.29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>78</p></td><td><p>-19%</p></td><td><p>1.03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>-15%</p></td><td><p>0.84</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>92</p></td><td><p>39%</p></td><td><p>1.14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>-34%</p></td><td><p>0.74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td><td><p>0.73</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>58</p></td><td><p>-5%</p></td><td><p>0.68</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>57</p></td><td><p>-2%</p></td><td><p>0.66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>60</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td><td><p>0.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>74</p></td><td><p>23%</p></td><td><p>0.88</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in custody is a key priority – we are working hard to understand the reasons for the recent rise in self-inflicted deaths. But this is a complex issue and there is no simple explanation for the rise. <br><br>All deaths are subject to investigation by the police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and a Coroner’s inquest, and strenuous efforts are made to learn lessons from these processes.</p><p> </p><p>All prisons have procedures to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves. Prisoners at risk are subject to individual case management and receive support from prison staff, supplemented, where appropriate, by input from mental health services and a range of other sources such as peer supporters and the Samaritans.</p><p> </p><p>There is strong oversight of deaths in custody through the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, which includes an Independent Advisory Panel that has recently been commissioned by the Secretary of State to conduct an independent review of deaths of 18-24 year olds in prison custody since 2007 to report by spring 2015. This will help identify learning points that can be applied across all age groups.</p><p> </p><p>Additional resources and support are being provided for safer custody work in prisons and in particular to improve the consistency of the application of the case management system for prisoners identified as at risk of self harm or suicide.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks grouped question UIN HL892 question first answered 28/07/2014 13:19:28 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4160 label Biography information for Lord Knight of Weymouth

76547

registered interest
date	08/07/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Self-harm
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the change in numbers of prisoners in the United Kingdom committing acts of self-harm in custody for each of the last 10 years; and what the percentage change has been year on year for the same period.
tabling member printed	Lord Knight of Weymouth
uin	HL891
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2014 answer text <p>The government is committed to open and transparent reporting of self-harm in custody and publish statistics on self-harm in prison custody in England and Wales quarterly in the National Statistics “Safety in Custody” bulletin. This statistical series can be found at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The number of individuals committing at least one self-harm incident in prison custody in each year and year-on-year change is presented in table 1.</p><p>Figures are provided for England and Wales only. Figures are not published by the Ministry of Justice for other areas of the United Kingdom as the judicial systems are a devolved matter for the respective administrations.</p><p> </p><p>Around 80 prisoners in every 1,000 in prison custody self-harm.</p><p> </p><p>Table 1: Year-on-year percentage change of individuals self-harming in prison custody, England and Wales</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number</p></td><td><p>Year-on-year change (%)</p></td><td><p>Number of individuals self-harming per 1,000 prisoners</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>5,837</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>6,090</p></td><td><p>4%</p></td><td><p>78</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>6,296</p></td><td><p>3%</p></td><td><p>78</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>6,586</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td><td><p>80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>7,149</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td><td><p>86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>6,767</p></td><td><p>-5%</p></td><td><p>80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>6,907</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td><td><p>80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>6,821</p></td><td><p>-1%</p></td><td><p>79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>6,823</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td><td><p>81</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>All prisons have procedures to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves. Prisoners at risk are subject to individual case management and receive support from prison staff, supplemented, where appropriate, by input from mental health services and a range of other sources such as peer supporters and the Samaritans.</p><p> </p><p>Additional resources and support are being provided for safer custody work in prisons and in particular to improve the consistency of the application of the case management system for prisoners identified as at risk of self harm or suicide.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 28/07/2014 13:20:42 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4160 label Biography information for Lord Knight of Weymouth

76548

registered interest
date	08/07/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Suicide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners have committed suicide in custody in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years; and what the percentage change has been year on year for the same period.
tabling member printed	Lord Knight of Weymouth
uin	HL892
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2014 answer text <p>The government is committed to open and transparent reporting of deaths in custody and publish statistics on deaths in prison custody in England and Wales quarterly in the National Statistics “Safety in Custody” bulletin. This statistical series can be found at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The number of (i) deaths in prison custody and year-on-year change is presented in table 1. The number of (ii) self-inflicted deaths in prison custody and year-on-year change is presented in table 2.</p><p>Figures are provided for England and Wales only. Figures are not published by the Ministry of Justice for other areas of the United Kingdom as the judicial systems are a devolved matter for the respective administrations.</p><p> </p><p>In 2013 there were 2.55 deaths per 1,000 prisoners and between 2008 and 2013 less than 1 prisoner in every 1,000 died from a self-inflicted death. The rate of self-inflicted deaths was consistently above 1 death per 1,000 prisoners between 1993 and 2005, peaking at 1.4 self-inflicted deaths per 1,000 prisoners in 1999.</p><p> </p><p>Table 1: Number of deaths and year-on-year percentage change of deaths in prison custody</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number</p></td><td><p>Year-on-year change (%)</p></td><td><p>Death rate per 1,000 prisoners</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004</p></td><td><p>208</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>2.79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>175</p></td><td><p>-16%</p></td><td><p>2.30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>153</p></td><td><p>-13%</p></td><td><p>1.96</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>185</p></td><td><p>21%</p></td><td><p>2.30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>166</p></td><td><p>-10%</p></td><td><p>2.01</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>169</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td><td><p>2.02</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>198</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td><td><p>2.34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>192</p></td><td><p>-3%</p></td><td><p>2.24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>192</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td><td><p>2.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>215</p></td><td><p>12%</p></td><td><p>2.55</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Table 2: Number of self-inflicted deaths and year-on-year percentage change of self-inflicted deaths in prison custody</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number</p></td><td><p>Year-on-year change (%)</p></td><td><p>Self-inflicted deaths per 1,000 prisoners</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004</p></td><td><p>96</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>1.29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>78</p></td><td><p>-19%</p></td><td><p>1.03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>-15%</p></td><td><p>0.84</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>92</p></td><td><p>39%</p></td><td><p>1.14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>-34%</p></td><td><p>0.74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td><td><p>0.73</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>58</p></td><td><p>-5%</p></td><td><p>0.68</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>57</p></td><td><p>-2%</p></td><td><p>0.66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>60</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td><td><p>0.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>74</p></td><td><p>23%</p></td><td><p>0.88</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in custody is a key priority – we are working hard to understand the reasons for the recent rise in self-inflicted deaths. But this is a complex issue and there is no simple explanation for the rise. <br><br>All deaths are subject to investigation by the police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and a Coroner’s inquest, and strenuous efforts are made to learn lessons from these processes.</p><p> </p><p>All prisons have procedures to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves. Prisoners at risk are subject to individual case management and receive support from prison staff, supplemented, where appropriate, by input from mental health services and a range of other sources such as peer supporters and the Samaritans.</p><p> </p><p>There is strong oversight of deaths in custody through the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, which includes an Independent Advisory Panel that has recently been commissioned by the Secretary of State to conduct an independent review of deaths of 18-24 year olds in prison custody since 2007 to report by spring 2015. This will help identify learning points that can be applied across all age groups.</p><p> </p><p>Additional resources and support are being provided for safer custody work in prisons and in particular to improve the consistency of the application of the case management system for prisoners identified as at risk of self harm or suicide.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks grouped question UIN HL890 question first answered 28/07/2014 13:19:27 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4160 label Biography information for Lord Knight of Weymouth