Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in determining whether suicide and self-harm prevention will be included in their guidance on relationships, sex and health education as an explicit part of the curriculum, in particular to support young people to spot the signs of, and seek appropriate support for, cases of suicidal ideation.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is currently reviewing the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance. In July 2023, as part of the review, the department held a workshop with teachers. The former Minister for Schools also chaired roundtable meetings with a panel of experts and with families to explore the inclusion of suicide prevention in the curriculum.
The department will publish an amended draft of the statutory guidance for consultation at the earliest opportunity. The department will consider responses carefully before publishing the final revised guidance in 2024.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) mental health and (b) suicide prevention provision in secondary schools.
Answered by David Johnston
Schools are best placed to decide what mental health and wellbeing support to offer to pupils. The department does not collect detailed data on suicide prevention provision in schools, but asks questions about schools’ perceptions of mental health support, as part of its regular omnibus surveys, the results of which are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-and-college-panel-omnibus-surveys-for-2022-to-2023.
The department is supporting effective whole school approaches to mental health through our commitment to offer all state schools and colleges a grant to train a senior mental health lead by 2025. This includes training on how to make sure they are including processes for identifying individuals or groups who need additional mental health support. There are 14,400 settings that have claimed a grant up to 31 August 2023, including more than 7 in 10 state-funded secondary schools.
To expand access to early mental health support, the department is continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to schools and colleges. As of April 2023, MHSTs covered 47% of pupils in secondary schools in England. The department is extending coverage of MHSTs to an estimated 44% of pupils and learners in all schools and colleges by the end of this financial year and at least 50% by the end of March 2025.
Suicide prevention is part of school and system wide approaches to mental health and wellbeing, where schools should promote good mental health in children, provide a supportive environment for those experiencing problems, and help secure access to more specialist help for those who need it.
Schools can teach older pupils about suicide in an age-appropriate and sensitive way. The Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance advises that schools should approach teaching about self-harm and suicide carefully and should be aware of the risks to pupils from exposure to materials that are instructive rather than preventative, including websites or videos that provide instructions or methods of self-harm or suicide.
To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department has produced teacher training modules. The mental wellbeing module contains key knowledge and facts to help teachers understand what they must teach, and is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
The department has started work on the review of the RSHE statutory guidance. Suicide prevention is one of the key subjects that the department will explore as a priority area, and it will work with a range of experts and those with lived experience to do this.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken with rail companies to help reduce rates of (a) suicide and (b) self-harm at railway stations in (i) Romford constituency and (ii) England.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Every rail operator is required to have a live Suicide Prevention Plan which covers requirements such as training of public facing staff in suicide prevention, putting in place mitigation measures at stations and promoting help seeking behaviour to vulnerable people at risk of suicide or self-harm.
Furthermore, every operator is also required to obtain and maintain accreditation to the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme, which is assessed independently by British Transport Police (BTP). The scheme requires operators to demonstrate how they are actively supporting vulnerable people on their network.
The BTP carries out a site visit following every suspected suicide on the railway to mitigate against future loss of life at the same location, and has a dedicated Harm Reduction Team (Hart) who work one to one with vulnerable individuals, joining up local authorities, the NHS and others to ensure the person is cared for and prevented from harming themselves on the rail network.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961, how many times his Department has asked internet service providers to remove websites that encourage suicide in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department has not asked internet service providers to remove such websites in the last five years. However, we recognise the role of internet service providers in protecting people online. We are working with a range of organisations across the suicide prevention sector, and more widely, on this issue to enable better protection for individuals.
The Online Safety Act, which received royal assent on 26 October 2023, will tackle illegal and legal forms of self-harm and suicide content in several ways. All services in scope will need to proactively prevent all users from being exposed to priority illegal content, including content that encourages or assists suicide.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to ensure the consistent implementation of adequate risk management processes for vulnerable service personnel.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Across the Armed Forces, there are extensive medical and welfare systems that offer support for those in need, provided by the Chain of Command, medical staff, welfare and pastoral staff. The Ministry of Defence also works closely with the National Health Service, the Defence Medical Services, Service charities, third parties and the single Services to provide 24-hour mental health services accessible for all Armed Forces personnel. This includes a 24-hour mental health helpline, funded by Defence, and delivered by Combat Stress.
Each Service also has dedicated suicide and self-harm policies and risk management procedures tailored to their specific nature, all of which are regularly reviewed and updated. This includes Vulnerability Risk Management training.
The Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan, published in April 2023, also seeks to enhance organisational processes to support those at risk.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for Health and Social Care to develop the new National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The DWP is working closely with the DHSC on the development of the national suicide prevention strategy. This is through our membership of the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group.
To support the DHSC’s development of the strategy, we have shared the DWP’s response to instances where our customers indicate either suicide or serious self-harm in the form of our ‘6 Point Plan’.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, , in what circumstances a death certificate will describe a suicide as being related to gambling.
Answered by Mike Freer
The information recorded by the coroner in the Record of Inquest is dependent on the circumstances of the individual case and is at the coroner’s discretion as an independent judicial office holder in the exercise of their statutory functions. The register is completed by the Registrar using the coroner’s certificate after inquest, and will record the medical cause of death and the conclusion of the inquest. A death certificate contains the same information as the register entry.
The Government recognises that quality information on the circumstances leading to self-harm and suicide, including issues relating to gambling addiction, can support better interventions. However, whilst coroners may be made aware of information about the motivation or contributory factors in a suicide, it cannot be guaranteed that consistent and comprehensive information on a deceased person’s background will be made available to the coroner in every case.
In addition, expecting coroners to routinely assess the motivation for individual suicides would take the coronial role fundamentally beyond its legal parameters, which are to determine who died, and how, when and where they died.
However, in addition to the inquest conclusion, coroners have a statutory duty to make a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report to a person where an investigation gives rise to a concern that future deaths will occur, and the coroner considers that action should be taken to reduce that risk. PFD reports are about learning and improvements to public health, welfare and safety and could, for example, raise concerns relating to gambling addiction where the circumstances of an individual case give rise to a concern. To promote learning, all PFD reports and the responses to them must be provided to the Chief Coroner, and most are published on the judiciary website.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what circumstances a coroner will register a suicide as being related to gambling.
Answered by Mike Freer
The information recorded by the coroner in the Record of Inquest is dependent on the circumstances of the individual case and is at the coroner’s discretion as an independent judicial office holder in the exercise of their statutory functions. The register is completed by the Registrar using the coroner’s certificate after inquest, and will record the medical cause of death and the conclusion of the inquest. A death certificate contains the same information as the register entry.
The Government recognises that quality information on the circumstances leading to self-harm and suicide, including issues relating to gambling addiction, can support better interventions. However, whilst coroners may be made aware of information about the motivation or contributory factors in a suicide, it cannot be guaranteed that consistent and comprehensive information on a deceased person’s background will be made available to the coroner in every case.
In addition, expecting coroners to routinely assess the motivation for individual suicides would take the coronial role fundamentally beyond its legal parameters, which are to determine who died, and how, when and where they died.
However, in addition to the inquest conclusion, coroners have a statutory duty to make a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report to a person where an investigation gives rise to a concern that future deaths will occur, and the coroner considers that action should be taken to reduce that risk. PFD reports are about learning and improvements to public health, welfare and safety and could, for example, raise concerns relating to gambling addiction where the circumstances of an individual case give rise to a concern. To promote learning, all PFD reports and the responses to them must be provided to the Chief Coroner, and most are published on the judiciary website.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to prisons to support the prevention of suicide in prisons in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Prevention of suicide is a key priority for the Ministry of Justice. Prison Service Instruction 64/2011 on “Rules and guidance for prison staff on managing prisoners who are at risk of harm or death, or who may be a risk to others” provides overarching guidance on prison safety and supports the prevention of suicide in prisons, including through our case management approach for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm. The instruction sets out mandatory actions and guidance for staff, emphasising the importance of individualised support, multi-disciplinary teamwork, and identifying and addressing an individual’s risks, triggers and protective factors.
In addition, we are phasing in refreshed safety training for staff which includes suicide and self-harm prevention. In partnership with Samaritans, we have developed a suicide prevention learning tool, designed to give staff more confidence in engaging with prisoners who may be at risk of suicide. We have developed guidance on supporting someone who is self-harming, drawing on existing good practice and guidance from the NHS and third sector. This has been distributed nationally, helping to up-skill staff around the subject of self-harm and outline the importance of providing tailored, meaningful support.
We know the risk of suicide can be higher for prisoners in the early days of custody including for those held on remand. Mandatory actions and guidance for staff on the early days in custody includes the requirement to assess all prisoners of any risk that they might harm themselves on arrival. A staff toolkit helps staff to assess risk effectively and promote supportive conversations in the early days of custody.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the extent of (a) bullying and (b) consequent suicide of pupils in schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
Every suicide is a tragedy. Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, including suicide prevention, is a government priority. The department is committed to ensuring schools and colleges are safe, calm and supportive learning environments, where bullying is actively prevented. Schools and colleges should also promote mental wellbeing and provide early, targeted support to prevent the onset and progression of mental health problems.
It is important to recognise that suicide is complex and rarely due to one factor. However, there is strong evidence in the wider academic literature for a causal link between being a victim of bullying, and experiencing negative mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, self-harm, and psychotic experiences in both adolescence and throughout adult life. In February 2022, 15% of secondary pupils (years 7 to 13) self-reported that they had been bullied in the past 12 months.
The analysis of The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) data on child deaths between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, for which the child death reviews have been completed, shows that of the 91 deaths categorised as ‘Suicide or deliberate self-inflicted harm’ (excluding substance misuse related deaths), at least 21 (23%) had experienced either face to face or cyber bullying.
The department’s ‘Behaviour in Schools’ Guidance states that all schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. This should be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1101597/Behaviour_in_schools_guidance_sept_22.pdf.
The department is providing over £2 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate-related bullying.