To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides have taken place in Scottish prisons in each year since 1999, broken down by gender.
I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-14693 on 9 March 2005, and S2W-15577 on 14 April 2005, for the years 1999-2000 to 2003-04. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
The following table sets out self-inflicted and apparent self-inflicted deaths in prison custody for the years 2004-05 to 2006-07, by prison. There were only two female deaths over this period, both occurring at HM Prison and Institution, Cornton Vale. Information relating to statistics of self-harm or attempted suicide is not available for these years.
| Establishment | Year |
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
| Aberdeen | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Barlinnie | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Cornton Vale | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dumfries | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edinburgh | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Glenochil | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greenock | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inverness | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Kilmarnock | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ~Low Moss | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Open Estate | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Perth | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Peterhead | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Polmont | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shotts | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | *10 | #10 |
Notes:
~Low Moss closed, spring 2006.
*1 apparent self-inflicted death subject to Fatal Accident Inquiry Determination.
#5 apparent self-inflicted deaths subject to Fatal Accident Inquiry Determination.