Prisoner suicides in relation to the UK.

Summary

The request asked for suicide statistics at the Isle of Man Prison over the last 10 years and a comparison to UK averages. The authority confirmed no new suicides since a previous 2023 disclosure but stated it does not hold the requested UK comparative data.

Key Facts

• No further deaths due to suicide occurred at the Isle of Man Prison between March 2023 and July 2024.
• Information regarding suicide numbers from the last 10 years was previously released in March 2023 under case reference 2956417.
• The Department of Home Affairs does not hold information regarding the average suicide rate in the UK.
• The authority is not required to provide comparisons to information held by other bodies under the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The request was closed on 26 July 2024 with the outcome 'No information sent - all held but exempt'.

Data Disclosed

• 3989021
• 2024-07-17
• 2024-07-26
• 24 March 2023
• 2956417
• 10 years
• ~16 months
• Section 20
• Section 15
• Section 3
• Section 5
• Part 2

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (information already reasonably accessible)
• Section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (authority does not hold the information)

Original Request

How Many Suicides occurred at the Isle of Man Prison in the last 10 years and how does that relate to the average rate in the UK.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Coordinator DHA Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 5AP

Telephone: (01624) 687017 Web address: www.gov.im/dha
Email: DPO-DHA@dha.gov.im

Our ref: 3989021 18 July 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 17 July 2024, which states:

"How Many Suicides occurred at the Isle of Man Prison in the last 10 years and how does that relate to the average rate in the UK."

Our response to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (“the Act”) is as follows;

1) How Many Suicides occurred at the Isle of Man Prison in the last 10 years

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. Some of the information requested is available in the Department’s response to a previous request for information, issued 24 March 2023. For ease of reference, this has been attached to our response, and can be viewed on the Freedom of Information Disclosure Log (https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/search) by searching case reference 2956417.
In line with our duty to provide advice and assistance in accordance with Section 15 of the Act, as this information was provided ~16 months ago, I have reached out to colleagues at the Isle of Man Prison to confirm the whether the information released at that time was still relevant today, and whether there have been any further deaths due to suicide at the Prison in the intervening period. The Prison have confirmed that there have been no further deaths due to suicide at the Prison in this period.
2) How does that relate to the average rate in the UK."

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested.

For information, section 3 of the Act states that its purpose is to enable persons resident in the Isle of Man to obtain access to information held by public authorities.

Section 5 of the Act defines information as meaning “information recorded in any form”, therefore public authorities can only consider records that it holds when considering its response to requests for information. Public authorities are not required to provide comparisons to information held by another public authority, body, organisation, etc. when responding to requests for information, as this does not fall within the scope of its obligations under the Act.

Please quote the reference number 3989021 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.