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Prisoners: Death

Volume 497: debated on Wednesday 14 October 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have died from cancer while in custody in each year since 2001; (291956)

(2) how many inmates have died in prison from natural causes in each year since 2002.

The following table gives the number of people known to have died from cancer while in prison custody in England and Wales in each year since 2001.

Number of known cancer related deaths in prison custody in England and Wales

2001

6

2002

7

2003

17

2004

21

2005

19

2006

18

2007

14

2008

22

The number known to be cancer related are shown in this table and refer to primary cause of death but exclude cases where cancer played a secondary or tertiary role. In later years the numbers should be interpreted as provisional, as they may change following inquests or as new information emerges.

The following table gives the total number of deaths from natural causes in prison custody in England and Wales since 2002.

Total number of deaths from natural causes in prison custody in England and Wales

2002

66

2003

86

2004

102

2005

88

2006

83

2007

92

2008

98

Every death in prison is a tragedy, and affects families, staff and other prisoners deeply. Ministers, the Ministry of Justice and NOMS are committed to learning from each death and to reducing the number of such incidents. Deaths in prisons are among the most scrutinised of all incidents and each case is subject to a police investigation and independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Robust systems are in place for monitoring deaths and learning from them.