§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has recently been commissioned by his Department into suicides among farmers; if that research has been published; what its principal conclusions are; what response he has made to the findings; and if he will make a statement. [4908]
§ Mr. BurnsI have been asked to reply.
The Department of Health has commissioned Professor Keith Hawton, University of Oxford, to undertake a study on suicides in high risk occupational groups, including an investigation of suicides among farmers. The study is in its final stages, and a report is expected in early 1997.