To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of (a) deaths by natural causes and (b) suicides at HM Prison Whitemoor in each year since 1992; what assessment he has made of any (i) trend or (ii) causality; what steps are being taken to reduce the incidence of suicide at the establishment; and if he will make a statement. (182150)

The information requested at (a) and (b) of the question is included in the following table:

(i) There is no discernable trend to the self-inflicted deaths at Whitemoor, though all four such deaths in 2007 were Category A Life Sentenced prisoner who are a traditionally high risk group.

(ii) Since 2004 the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been conducting investigations into all deaths in prison custody. All such deaths are also subject to a coroners inquest. The investigations into the four most recent self-inflicted deaths at Whitemoor are incomplete. Whitemoor, like much of the prison estate, contains a population with a high proportion of very vulnerable individuals, many of whom have experienced negative life events that we know increase the likelihood of them harming themselves. Issues that increase risk include drug/alcohol abuse, family background and relationship problems, social disadvantage or isolation, previous sexual or physical abuse, and mental health problems. Between July 2006 and July 2007 the proportion of prisoners at Whitemoor with a life/indeterminate sentence rose from 58 per cent. to 64 per cent. but this change appears insufficient to explain the recent self-inflicted deaths. At the request of the governor, the Prison Service’s Directorate of High Security Prisons has established a group to review the five self-inflicted deaths which occurred at Whitemoor prison between November 2006 and December 2007.

Every death in prison affects families, staff and other prisoners deeply. Ministers and the Prison Service are completely committed to reducing the number of such tragic incidents. The updated Prison Service suicide prevention strategy was published in October 2007 with implementation due to be completed in every prison, including Whitemoor, by end-April 2008. Building on several years of learning from the experience of prisoners, staff, investigators, inspectors and others, it incorporates developments such as improved cross-agency information flows, the provision of safer cells, increasing prisoner peer support, and the introduction of ACCT (Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork) the care-planning system for prisoners at-risk of suicide or self-harm, introduced across the prisons estate in partnership with the Department of Health during 2005-07.

At Whitemoor itself a Head of Decency to oversee the whole safer prisons strategy has been appointed, local safer custody policies have been re-visited, communication of prisoner safety information across the establishment improved, and there is an action plan which ensures that all actions identified following any death are implemented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff at HM Prison Whitemoor have been dismissed in each of the last 24 months; what reason was given for each dismissal; and if he will make a statement. (182151)

Information on the number of staff dismissed from HMP Whitemoor by category of dismissal in each month of 2006 and 2007 is contained in the following table. The information relates to operational and non-operational staff. The average number of staff during this period was 763.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what support is being made available to (a) governors and (b) prison officers at HM Prison Whitemoor to assist with (i) stress and (ii) mental health problems; and if he will make a statement. (182152)

Prison Service Order 3601 requires area managers and governing governors to (a) assess the risks to their employees health from stress and psychological hazards, (b) implement procedures for managing those risks, and (c) provide support for staff suffering from stress or psychological harm as a result of their work.

A range of services is already in place within prisons to support staff affected by stress, depression or anxiety related illnesses. These include services accessible through staff care and welfare and support provided locally by care teams.

A member of the Whitemoor staff care team is always available to offer assistance and support to staff. Additionally arrangements are available under contract for staff to receive personal support and telephone counselling should there be a need. Where it is considered parts of the prison might be likely to generate particular stress, group peer support supervision sessions are arranged in addition to psychology staff being available to offer advice and support to staff.

An Occupational Health Adviser has been appointed by Whitemoor to provide a range of interventions and advice in relation to stress and health issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) mobile telephones and (b) drugs have been recovered at HM Prison Whitemoor in each of the last 12 months; what assessment he has made of the contribution to contraband detection at the establishment through (i) dedicated search teams, (ii) prison dogs, (iii) the prison's correspondence office, (iv) wing staff and (v) security intelligence reports; and if he will make a statement. (182153)

For each month between January 2007 and December 2007, the number of mobile telephones and drugs recovered was:

There has been no individual assessment of the contribution each part of the prison plays in the detection of unauthorised items coming into or found within the prison, since in many cases it is the cooperation of all staff that permits the discovery of illicit material. It is not Prison Service policy to comment on the specific measures each establishment is taking to prevent contraband from coming into the establishment. Whitemoor deploys a wide variety of resources to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the levels of staff morale at HM Prison Whitemoor in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. (182154)

Aspects of staff morale are assessed in the annual Prison Service staff opinion survey. The following table shows results for HM Prison Whitemoor from 2002 to 2006, the most recent five years of published figures. The numbers in the table are the percentage of staff responding to the survey who agreed with statements about job satisfaction and pride in working for the Prison Service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether there has been an investigation of all those with management responsibility at HM Prison Whitemoor; and if he will make a statement. (182403)

No. Investigations do however take place into the actions of staff, including individual managers, where specific complaints or concerns about their conduct have been raised.