Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's document, Suicide and Self Harm Declarations - Appendix 2 (Six Point Plan), when that document was first issued to staff of his Department based in Glasgow and Bolton who are directly involved in the rollout of universal credit; how many times since that document was issued such staff contacted emergency services about a claimant according to the procedure set out in that plan; and how many times since that document was issued managers have conducted a review of an incident with such staff as stipulated by the Six Point Plan.

Operational Staff are specially trained to assist vulnerable individuals, including those with mental health issues; they are trained to look for signs of mental health issues and can refer individuals to our specialist staff and offer more information on available support on request. Staff are periodically reminded of the Suicide and Self-Harm policy that has been in place since April 2011 for all staff across the Department, including those Universal Credit staff at Glasgow and Bolton.

Bolton Service Centre has contacted the emergency services twice with regards to Universal Credit claimants. Glasgow has contacted the emergency services zero times.

As per the guidance, both Bolton incidents were reviewed and recorded appropriately.