Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to reduce access to high-lethality means of suicide; and what such steps have been taken to reduce the availability of helium gas.

The Department constantly monitors suicide data to identify trends in methods of suicide, including new and emerging methods such as self-poisoning from gases and noxious substances.

The Department works with partners, stakeholders, experts and industry to explore ways in which we can reduce access to means of particularly lethal methods of suicide. For example, regulations since 1998 to reduce the size of paracetamol packs and limiting the quantity that can be purchased in a single transaction have been successful in reducing access to means for a common method of suicide.

There was a sharp increase in the number of suicides relating to helium since 2007 from around one each year to over 60 in 2013. Figures have remained fairly stable since then. In response, the Department has worked with the British Compressed Gases Association, academics and other experts to explore possible action to reduce availability and are currently considering with industry next steps.