HC Deb 02 June 1998 vol 313 cc156-7
3. Mr. David Hanson (Delyn)

What steps he intends to take to reduce suicide rates among young people. [42177]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Paul Boateng)

The Green Paper "Our Healthier Nation" sets out the Government's proposed mental health target to reduce the death rate from suicide by at least a further sixth by 2010 and proposals for concerted action to achieve that target, including a reduction in the suicide rates among young people.

Mr. Hanson

Will my hon. Friend confirm that suicide is one of the biggest causes of death among men under 24? I welcome the targets that have been set in the White Paper. What practical steps do the Government intend to take to ensure that suicides are prevented, so that families such as that in my constituency who had a young boy who committed suicide can be secure in the knowledge that it will not happen again?

Mr. Boateng

My hon. Friend is right to highlight a particular problem among young men. Suicide is the second highest killer of young men between 16 and 25, after road traffic accidents. That damning statistic requires concerted action. My hon. Friend the Minister for Public Health has addressed that in her Green Paper. A White Paper will follow in the autumn. In the meantime, we are taking practical action, such as considering the size of packets containing drugs and the warnings on them; piloting projects such as the Manchester campaign against living miserably, to work out how best to communicate with that hard-to-reach target group; and, importantly, ensuring that general practitioners are equipped to intervene early when the signs of stress and depression and the early stages of schizophrenia first appear. Those alarming figures can be brought down by such practical measures and by increasing public awareness.

Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset)

The Minister will know that, for a long time, the mental health authorities in Weymouth and South Dorset have been getting people back into the community by using landlords and landladies who have a supporting role for the mentally ill and those who are suicide risks. He will also know that, like their predecessors, the Government are examining how the project should be funded. It has not been properly funded for some years. People are falling through the net between health services and housing benefit. When will the Minister announce changes so that the excellent schemes that have been piloted in my area can continue?

Mr. Boateng

Only last month I attended a seminar on adult placements. We are working with the Local Government Association and the health authorities to ensure that such schemes are given the priority they deserve, because they have proved effective and need to be backed up by resources. We are giving urgent attention to the matter.

Mr. Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford, South)

Many of the young men who commit suicide are in prison. The Home Office is investigating the problem. What can the Department of Health do to help reduce the number of suicides in prison?

Mr. Boateng

My hon. Friend raises an important question. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is leading a group on that. We have identified a particular role for health authorities in the youth justice teams. So, for the first time, NHS representatives will be sitting alongside those from social services, the Probation Service, the police and others in order that we can work together in a concerted, multi-agency way to address the problems faced by that group of young people.