§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many young people in care committed or attempted to commit suicide, broken down by social services authorities, in the last monitoring year; and what recording mechanisms are in place in the Social Services Inspectorate to monitor such data. [55362]
§ Mr. BoatengUnder paragraph 20 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989, local authorities are required to notify the Secretary of State for Health of all deaths of children who are being looked after by the local authority.
Local authorities are also required under Regulation 19 (2) (a) and (c) of the Children's Home Regulations 1991 to notify the Department of the death of, or serious injury to, a child in a children's home.
There is no statutory requirement for the cause of death to be identified although local authorities generally do provide it. Information on the number of attempted suicides is not held centrally.
The Department's records show that two children committed suicide whilst being looked after by local authorities in 1997–98, the last monitoring year. One child was in the care of Somerset, the other in the care of the London Borough of Bromley.
These notifications, along with others relating to incidents of child deaths and serious harm where abuse is suspected, are recorded on the Department's Child Protection Database. This computer database links the Department's Social Care Regions and the Social Care Policy branches and has been operational since April 1998.