§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual suicide rate is of active service members of(a) the Army, (b) the Royal Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force in each year since 1989, stating in each case (i) the number of suicides and (ii) the number of attempted suicides recorded classified by rank; what measures have been taken to improve the armed forces' approach to preventing suicide; and if he will make a statement. [126902]
§ Dr. MoonieSince 1 January 1989 there have been 285 recorded suicides in the Armed Forces. A breakdown of this number by Service and rank is given in the tables1. Information on the number of attempted suicides is not recorded.
1 The information is as recorded up to 16 June 2000. Figures are for those cases of self-inflicted death recorded as suicide by a Coroner's Court. The information covers regular Armed Forces personnel including Gurkhas. It does not include Territorial Army, Reserve forces, Foreign Service personnel or the Gibraltar Regiment.321W
RAF Rank 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Total Wing Commander 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Squadron Leader 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Flight Lieutenant 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 Pilot Officer 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Chief Technician 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Flight Sergeant 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Sergeant 0 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 10 Corporal 3 2 0 1 3 3 1 2 0 0 1 0 16 Junior Technician 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 Senior Aircraftsman 2 3 4 1 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 18 Leading Aircraftsman 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Aircraftsman 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 5 14 8 7 9 6 3 2 4 0 1 0 59 Rate per 1,000 Strength 0.06 0.16 0.09 0.08 0.11 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.07 0.00 0.02 — — Average Strength (thousands) 90.6 89.3 87.8 84.5 79.4 74.1 70.0 63.6 57.2 55.7 55.0 — — For most age groups (including the vulnerable group of single males below the age of 25) rates of intentionally self-inflicted death (ISID) are no higher than in the civilian population. All three Services take the problem seriously and have measures in place, both within and independently of the chain of command, to enable vulnerable individuals to seek help. These include procedures for putting people in touch with voluntary organisations and access to help lines (including the Samaritans). Service personnel can also seek help and advice from unit welfare officers, the Defence Medical Service, and from their chaplain.
Commanders and managers are provided with awareness training, so that they are aware of the various sources of advice and help available for vulnerable people under their command. All three Services convene formal Boards of Inquiry following self-inflicted deaths to examine the circumstances and to assess whether steps can be taken to prevent similar occurrences in the future.