§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 April, to question reference 165755, what the reasons are for the delay in collecting and analysing information with regard to incidents of self-harm in the army. [166929]
§ Mr. CaplinIt is notoriously difficult to obtain reliable and consistent data about incidents of self-harm, because of problems of definition and identification, uncertainty about intention, patient confidentiality and the variety and inconsistency of reporting. As I indicated previously, more work is continuing to try to improve the collection of information.