Self Harm and Suicide

(asked on 27th June 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral statement of 27 June 2020 on Draft Mental Health Bill, what plans he has for the proposed 10-year suicide prevention strategy to recognise a link between self-harm and suicide; and what steps he plans to take to tackle the prevalence and frequency of self-harm.


Answered by
Gillian Keegan Portrait
Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
This question was answered on 7th July 2022

We will engage with those working to prevent suicide to understand the priorities for the new suicide prevention plan. While self-harming can present a risk of suicide, this does not determine that an individual may wish to take their own life. Approximately, half of those who died by suicide had a history of self-harm in their lifetime.

In 2017, we expanded the scope of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy to include self-harm. In addition, we have provided funding for the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England to analyse trends in self-harming. We are allocating £57 million by 2023/24 to support local suicide prevention plans and bereavement services. We have ensured that suicide prevention funding for local areas includes addressing self-harm.

Reticulating Splines