Question reference: S6W-05574
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 7 January 2022
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 January 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people died while in the custody of the Scottish Prison Service during 2021.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
There were a total of 53 deaths in SPS custody during 2021.
The SPS publishes information regarding all deaths in our custody in calendar years on the SPS website. This information is updated on a quarterly basis and can be accessed using the following link: Prisoner Deaths (sps.gov.uk) . The next quarterly update will be published on the SPS website in January 2022 which will provide information on deaths in custody that occurred between October-December 2021.