A prisoner self-harms every 7 minutes according to new data from the Ministry of Justice. It also showed an almost 25% rise in the number of assaults in prisons.

The rate of self-harm is more than eight times higher in prisons holding women than in prisons holding men, with the women’s estate registering almost 21,000 incidents in 12 months. Responding to the previous set of statistics, the head of the charity Women in Prison said ‘seriously unwell women are being sent to prison when in fact they need medical or psychiatric support.’

This week it was found that a prison failed to heed warnings, contributing to the self-inflicted death of a vulnerable autistic mother of six. Kayleigh ‘Kay’ Melhuish, who had never been to prison before, had a history of suicide attempts and been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and autism.

The data, released quarterly as part of rolling ‘Safety in Custody’ reporting, also shows that 317 people in prison died in the 12 months to the end of September 2024. They included 88 people who died in circumstances recorded as ‘self-inflicted’.

Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: ‘These shocking statistics are a barometer of a system under immense pressure. Rising levels of self-harm and assaults reveal the scale of distress and tragedy in prisons that have been asked to do too much, with too little, for too long.’

He said the early release scheme implemented by the incoming Labour government will go some way to reducing strains on the system, but added that the group ‘eagerly awaits’ the forthcoming sentencing review for a ‘sustainable’ solution to the capacity crisis.

Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said: ‘These shocking figures underline the very human consequences of the severe pressures the prison system is under. Yesterday’s budget and the promise of increased resources may bring some relief, but this must now be accompanied by a sustained effort to reduce demand on the system over the longer term to provide it with the vital breathing space to recover.’