Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to keep and publish detailed records of farmer, landowner, and family business owner suicides in the months leading up to the reduction of agricultural and business property reliefs for inheritance tax, for the purpose of public interest.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Roborough

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

19 December 2024

Dear Lord Roborough,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking whether we plan to keep and publish detailed records of farmer, landowner, and family business owner suicides in the months leading up to the reduction of agricultural and business property reliefs for inheritance tax, for the purpose of public interest (HL3558).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration, which is a legal requirement. This data enables the ONS to produce detailed statistics on suicides that are registered in England and Wales and we publish regular annual[1] and quarterly[2] statistics. All these are based on date of registration, rather than occurrence.

In England and Wales, all deaths by suicide are certified by a coroner and cannot be registered until an inquest is completed. This results in a delay between the date the death occurred and the date of registration. Due to these registration delays, it will not be possible to produce accurate statistics on suicides occurring in 2026 until 2028. The ONS will continue its quarterly publication of suicide statistics and analysis of suicide deaths by occupation based on registration date. However, a more regular presentation of suicide deaths by occupation is not planned.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/previousreleases

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/quarterlysuicidedeathregistrationsinengland/previousreleases