Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on developing new ways to measure loss of veteran lives through suicide.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has been working with the Office for National Statistics to further develop plans for a ten year retrospective study looking at suicides within the veteran community. We are working with the MoD to access the data required for this study, and this analysis will look at issues including the frequency of suicide within the veteran community since 2011 and how this rate has changed. This study is expected to be conducted with results published next year.
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs also continues to engage with the Office for National Statistics as analysis plans are put in place for the veterans data collected in the 2021 England and Wales census, which will be used to produce a measure of the number of veterans who take their own lives each year. It is expected that the first annual statistic on this will be published in 2023.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on its review of veteran deaths through suicide in the last ten years.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has been working with the Office for National Statistics to further develop plans for a ten year retrospective study looking at suicides within the veteran community. We are working with the MoD to access the data required for this study, and this analysis will look at issues including the frequency of suicide within the veteran community since 2011 and how this rate has changed. This study is expected to be conducted with results published next year.
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs also continues to engage with the Office for National Statistics as analysis plans are put in place for the veterans data collected in the 2021 England and Wales census, which will be used to produce a measure of the number of veterans who take their own lives each year. It is expected that the first annual statistic on this will be published in 2023.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's plans to collect new forms of data on veteran suicide, how coroners will be able to access information to confirm that the suicide victim was a former member of the UK's armed forces.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.
This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to provide (a) new codes of practice and (b) training to coroners for coroners to be able to discern whether the suicide of a veteran is attributable to their service.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.
This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to place new duties on coroners to ensure that they accurately report on veteran suicide.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.
This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's plans to collect new forms of data on veteran suicide, what methodology the Government plans to use to collate those figures; and whether that will include a breakdown by service.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's plans to collect new forms of data on veteran suicide, whether that data will include information on what engagement veterans had with mental health services prior to their suicide.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's plans to collect new forms of data on veteran suicide, whether retrospective studies will be undertaken by the Office for National Statistics to assess whether veteran suicides are attributable to their service.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the quality of NHS care for veterans.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Several bespoke veterans’ services have been developed to meet the needs of military personnel, veterans and their families. This includes Op Courage, the new specialist mental health service for veterans, which focuses on those in crisis, at risk of self-harm or suicide, or suffering other problems such as homelessness and addiction. To date, Op Courage has received over 10,000 referrals.
NHS England are also working with the Royal College of General Practitioners to accredit general practitioner practices as ‘veteran friendly’. To date, 982 practices have been accredited and the accreditation scheme is being widened to Primary Care Networks.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, by what mechanism his Department measures the suicide rate of former armed forces personnel.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
I refer the Rt Hon member for North Durham to the answer I gave to the member for Easington on the 14th January, column 135901.