Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase the scope of local suicide prevention plans to include steps to tackle the links between alcohol misuse, deliberate self-harm and deaths by suicide.

The scope of local suicide prevention plans is determined by local authorities, working with multi-agency partners within their community. Public Health England issued guidance to local authorities in 2016 to support their suicide prevention planning which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-developing-a-local-action-plan

The guidance advises that local suicide prevention plans should reflect the key areas for action ofthe Cross-Government National Suicide Prevention Strategy (2012), which highlights the importance of addressing issues which may increase the risk of suicide such as self-harm and alcohol misuse. The guidance suggests a number of priorities which local suicide prevention plans should address which includes reducing suicide risk in men (including alcohol misuse) and preventing and responding to self-harm.

Public Health England also published guidance in 2017 to National Health Service and social care commissioners and providers on providing better care for people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol and drug use conditions which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/people-with-co-occurring-conditions-commission-and-provide-services

The guidance sets out that local suicide prevention plans should address alcohol and drug misuse.