§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many cases of suicide were made known to his Department in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. John PattenThe following table shows the numbers of deaths registered in 1979 to 1983 which were recorded as due to suicide. Information about attempted suicide is not routinely collected centrally. From a small sample of hospital inpatient records mentioning attempted suicides, it is estimated the 40,000 to 45,000 such cases occurred in 1981 in England and Wales.
Numbers of suicides, 1979 to 1983* England and Wales Year Deaths 1979 4,195 1980 4,321 †1981 4,419 1982 4,279 *1983 4,262 * Provisional. ‡ Figures may be affected by an industrial dispute involving some registration officers.