Some foreign inmates at HMP Risley in Warrington have been self-harming because 'deportation to their home countries is taking too long', a prison watchdog has found.
Although incidents of self-harm have fallen at the category C Cheshire prison, which houses more than 1,100 inmates, fell sharply last year, a report by the Independent Monitoring Board expressed concern at the increase in self-harm incidents among foreign nationals.
Almost a quarter of the prisoners at HMP Risley are foreign - the jail is used as a north west hub for overseas citizens who are given prison sentences.
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A government minister has confirmed immigration officials now form part of a new unit on A Wing - where many of the foreign nationals are housed - to 'increase the chances of successful repatriation,' while some detainees were being released on electronic tags.
In its annual report, the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Risley - a group of unpaid lay people who monitor the jail - expressed concern at the rise in self-harm incidents in the year ending March 2021.
It stated: "The board must note the increase, in recent months, of self-harm by foreign national prisoners, who feel that their deportation to their home countries is taking too long and they do not understand the reason for the long delay. "
The report praised the running of the prison generally but continued: "The number of foreign national prisoners has increased during the last reporting year and now accounts for nearly 25% of the total population at Risley.
"While immigration surgeries took place once a month on all wings, legal advice on immigration issues was not always easily accessible for many prisoners.
"This resulted in a high level of frustration, which, together with long repatriation delays, manifested itself in a rising number of incidents of self-harm among this section of the prison population."
The latest figures showed a sharp reduction in the total of number of incident of self-harm at the prison, down from 674 in 2019/20 to 386 in 2020/21. Three of the deaths recorded in 2020/21 were 'self-inflicted', according to the watchdog.
Addressing the concerns in a letter to the monitoring board, the prisons minister at time, Victoria Atkins, said officials were making 'every effort' to ensure deportation took place as soon as prison terms were completed, and where this was not possible, an assessment was made as to whether an inmate awaiting deportation could be moved to an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC).
The minister said those kept in the prison estate 'are there because they have been assessed as unsuitable for the conditions of immigration removal centres (IRC), because they pose a high-risk or high harm to others'.
The status of such inmates was 'regularly reviewed', she said. She added: "I share your concerns about the self-harm rates among the foreign national population and recognise that they are at higher risk of suicide and self-harm and have specific vulnerabilities.
"Foreign national prisoners are more likely to experience feelings of social and cultural isolation in prison and lack of family support.
"Uncertainties about their immigration status can add to their levels of anxiety and increase their risk as their deportation date approaches.
"Furthermore, it is recognised that language barriers can make it very difficult to adjust to prison life and to communicate with staff and peers, increasing their feelings of isolation."
Immigration staff based at Risley and other prisons were given suicide and self-harm training, she said. Ms Atkins said the Home Office had introduced 'new satellite tracking devices' as part of an effort to explore alternatives to keeping those awaiting deportation in prison, a move which was criticised by human rights groups when it was introduced last year.
Since November, those kept in prison under immigration powers were now entitled to 30 minutes of legal advice and a payment of £5 each week, in line with what is available at IRCs, according to the minister.
At HMP Risley, immigration officials were joining a new unit on A Wing to 'increase the chances of successful repatriation'.
A Government spokesperson said: " Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence of 12 months or more is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity.
"We make every effort to coincide attempted removal with release, but where there is a significant risk of harm, an individual will not be transferred to an immigration removal centre. We continue to do all we can to improve safety and reduce levels of self-harm."
Home Office officials say reviews are undertaken regularly to ensure continued detention is lawful. The law does not allow for indefinite detention under immigration powers.
They point to the Covid pandemic for hampering the work to repatriate foreign nationals. Some 10,741 foreign national offenders have been removed since January, 2019 according to officials.
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