Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to require coroners to keep records of whether the deceased is a military veteran when recording a verdict of suicide.

The Government takes the welfare of Armed Forces veterans very seriously and we are committed to improving our understanding of the risk of suicide and its prevalence among veterans.

The Office of Veteran Affairs has been working with the Ministry of Defence and the Office for National Statistics to link and exploit administrative data held by the various organisations that will enable the tracking of veteran suicides without creating additional duties for coroners. This approach will ensure that the most complete picture of veteran suicides is available to coroners and the public. It is expected that the first annual statistics will be published in 2024.

There are currently no plans to require coroners to keep records of whether the deceased is an Armed Forces veteran when recording a conclusion of suicide. Where a coroner has been informed that the deceased person was a veteran and considers that information about veteran status is relevant to a suicide which is being investigated, they can seek information from the Defence Inquests Unit in the Ministry of Defence. How a coroner uses any information received is for them to determine.