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Written question asked by Sarah Champion (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 February 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 25 February 2021. It was answered by Lucy Frazer (Conservative) on Wednesday, 3 March 2021 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisoners: Coronavirus

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have died as a result of covid-19 in (a) HMP Askham Grange, (b) HMP Bronzefield, ( c) HMP Downview, (d) HMP Drake Hall, (e) HMP East Sutton Park, (f) HMP Eastwood Park, (g) HMP Foston Hall, (h) HMP Low Newton, (j) HMP New Hall, (k) HMP Peterborough, (l) HMP Send and (m) HMP Styal since 23 March 2020.

Answer

We have strict safety measures in place to limit the spread of the virus. This means prisons and probation services are well prepared to take immediate action whenever cases or suspected cases are identified. Our decisive action prevented thousands of prisoners and staff becoming infected with the virus. These included minimising movement between prisons and introducing measures to shield the vulnerable, isolate those with symptoms, and quarantine new entrants to custody. All our actions have been informed by the advice of experts from PHE and will be kept under constant review.

Recognising the unique environment in prisons, we routinely test staff and prisoners to bolster our defences against the virus, and conduct mass testing in outbreak sites – meaning we can identify more cases, isolate them earlier and move quickly to contain outbreaks and protect the NHS.

The table below shows figures for the period 23 March 2020 to 31 January 2021, the most recent verified data for the listed prisons. Where values of positive cases of two or fewer are present they have been suppressed (~) in order to prevent disclosure of personal information.

Prison

Number of positive COVID cases

Number of prisoner deaths related to COVID-19

HMP Askham Grange

~

0

HMP Bronzefield

44

0

HMP Downview

11

0

HMP Drake Hall

76

0

HMP East Sutton Park

33

0

HMP Eastwood Park

53

0

HMP Foston Hall

25

1

HMP Low Newton

109

1

HMP New Hall

10

1

HMP Peterborough (Male /Female)

12/~

0/0

HMP Send

54

0

HMP Styal

135

0

Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Much of the data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic has been done at pace, with recording practices evolving as we understand more about the requirements and conditions we are facing.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
157132
Session
2019-21
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Death Prisoners Coronavirus
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk