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Written question asked by Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 September 2026. It was answered by Lord Lemos (Labour) on Tuesday, 15 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisoners: Death

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, in each of the last ten years, how many (1) deaths in prisons have been judged as preventable by coroners, and (2) deaths in prisons have been judged as preventable by coroners where fire or smoke from a fire was the cause or contributed to the death.

Answer

The Department does not hold data on the number of deaths in prison that have been judged as preventable by coroners as coroners do not always express a clear view about whether a death is preventable.

In the last ten years, two deaths in prison have been the subject of coroners' findings indicating that the death may have been preventable, where fire or smoke inhalation from a fire was either the cause of death or a contributing factor.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2848
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Death Coroners Fires Prisoners
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk