Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Coaker on 28 October (HL1530), how many incidents of self-harm deemed to be a deliberate intent to inflict damage or alter oneself through self-injury or self-poisoning, and how many incidences of individuals having thoughts of self-harm or suicidal ideation, have been reported at the Army Foundation College in the past five years; and of those, how many were deemed to be an attempt at suicide.

Between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2024, 103 regular UK Armed Forces personnel at the Army Foundation College Harrogate (AFC(H)) had at least one incident of self-harm recorded. It is not possible to provide the total number of self-harm incidents as the underlying data does not differentiate between new incidents and the on-going treatment of a previous self-harm incident, or the individual’s intention or the severity of the self-harm.

Information is also not centrally compiled about suicidal thoughts or ideation as these are not included in the national guidelines for reporting of self-harm which is defined as an act of self-injury or self-poisoning.

We take all incidents of self-harm extremely seriously and have strong duty of care and safeguarding mechanisms in place to ensure recruits, particularly those who are under 18, have the right support structures. All personnel have access to medical staff and a range of welfare support including Unit Welfare Officers, Padres, the Army Welfare Service and 24-hour confidential helplines. AFC(H) has received praise from both Ofsted and North Yorkshire Safeguarding and Children’s Partnership for its safeguarding ratios and for the welfare and care it provides.