Suicide Rate: Reduction Measures (Hansard, 13 December 1993)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)
My Lords, the measures that we have taken include funding of the confidential inquiry into homicides and suicides by mentally ill people; the issue of the mental illness key area handbook to NHS and local authority managers; support for the "Defeat Depression" campaign; and publication and widespread distribution of a booklet on suicide. Copies of these documents are available in the Library.

§ Lord Rea
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her Answer. I appreciate the steps which are being taken and I hope that they will result in improved mental health services. Does she agree that perhaps suicide is related to wider factors than simply mental illness alone? For example, has she read an article in this week's British Medical Journal about unemployment and psychiatric admissions? The report concludes: Unemployment rates are an extremely powerful indicator of the rates of serious mental illness that will need treatment in hospital in those aged under 65". While I agree that unemployment is not directly related to suicide per se, does the Minister agree that there are wider economic and social factors involved in suicide rather than simply the improvement of services? In setting the target, did the Government realise that they had to deliver a marked improvement in the economy in order to achieve the target?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, we do appreciate that there are many factors which affect suicide. It is a very complex problem, but in looking at unemployment there is no direct correlation between the numbers of unemployed and those who commit suicide. Indeed, in times of full employment the suicide rate sometimes goes up. Although I accept the general points made by the noble Lord, I cannot accept his point that there is a direct correlation.

§ Lord Ennals
My Lords, as the Minister said, there are multi-faceted reasons for suicide. I believe that there is a ministerial and inter-governmental committee which is looking at targets. Has it considered this particular question of the reduction in the numbers of suicides and, if not, could it be an important measure, bearing in mind the different government departments which have an interest?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
Yes my Lords, this is an area on which the Government place a very high priority. It is one of the five key areas in the Health of the Nation strategy and will be very widely considered.

§ The Countess of Mar
My Lords, will the noble Baroness accept that the rate of suicide among farmers is much higher than in a great many other social groups? Is she aware that the situation is particularly tragic in the West Country, where young farmers are committing suicide? Will the Minister bear in mind that exposure to toxic chemicals in agriculture can cause or exacerbate depression and that it is often unrecognised by the medical profession? Can the Minister say what action the Government propose to take?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, I very much appreciate the doughty fight that the noble Countess has been carrying on in the past few months. I am aware that particularly farmers have a high risk of suicide. We are doing a great deal of work with them, specifically in conjunction with the Samaritans and the National Farmers Union. As I am married to a farmer I am well aware that he needs to be cherished.

§ Earl Russell
My Lords, can the noble Baroness say how many suicides last year were aged 16 or 17? Among that number can she also say how many were without a job, a youth training place or severe hardship payments of income support?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, there were 5,500 suicides in total last year. I do not have the detailed breakdown that the noble Earl wishes, although I shall be very happy to obtain it for him in due course.

§ Lord Henderson of Brompton
My Lords, will the Minister tell the House what steps the Government have taken, and propose to take, to reduce the incidence of suicide in prison and especially in young offender institutions? Further, will she consider action to avoid possible suicide due to depression in those who are suddenly and adversely affected by the operation of the Child Support Act?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, the Government have made considerable efforts to try to reduce the number of suicides in prison by improving communication and co-operation between the staff; by the training of prison officers and health care staff in the recognition and assessment of suicidal risk; by improving the therapeutic regimes of psychiatric inpatients, and by the use of fellow prisoners as listeners, supported by the Samaritans. As regards the second part of the question, I know that one case was publicised in the press. I believe that that was a unique situation.

§ Lord Rea
My Lords, in setting the target in their White Paper for the reduction in the number of suicides, what evidence did the Government have that any of the steps which they are taking would be effective in reducing the numbers of suicides? I am not aware of any. If there are no actual examples of reducing the number of suicides in other countries, why was suicide chosen as one of the targets to aim at?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, the target was set only a year ago. We have put in hand a number of measures. Clearly, it is far too early to make a rigorous assessment as to whether our efforts have been effective. In other European countries it is interesting to note that Denmark, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, West Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy all have higher suicide rates than this country.