Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Samaritan's media guidelines for reporting suicide; and if her Department will take steps to promote those guidelines.

The UK has a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from Government. This is vital to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. The Government therefore does not intervene in the work of the press or independent press regulators.

Within the self-regulatory system, the majority of traditional publishers are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Some publishers have joined the Independent Monitor for the Press (Impress), while others, including the Financial Times and the Guardian, have chosen to stay outside either regulator with their own detailed self-regulatory arrangements.

These regulators enforce codes of conduct which provide guidelines on a range of areas, which include reporting on suicides. Both regulators also signpost to the Samaritans’ media guidelines for reporting on suicides and publish further advice for journalists and editors relating to reporting on suicide. Impress’ guidance is https://www.impressorg.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Guidance-on-the-Impress-Standards-Code.pdf#page=65 and IPSO’s is https://www.ipso.co.uk/resources/reporting-suicide-guidance/.