Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases of suicide have been reported by (1) coroners, and (2) other sources, since the establishment of the coroner focal point in March 2016.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has recorded 22 contacts related to possible suicides via its Coroner focal point since 2016.

Coroners determine the cause of death, including whether it is by suicide. Coroners do not routinely inform the department when they return a conclusion of suicide in a case where the deceased person was claiming benefits. There is no requirement for them to do so, unless they have named it as an Interested Person at that inquest, or they decide to send it a Prevention of Future Deaths report.

DWP becomes aware of the majority of deaths through the Tell Us Once (TUO) service. It is offered by all 391 councils across England, Scotland and Wales on behalf of DWP. This service lets citizens report a death to most government organisations in one go. Once verified, the Customer Information System (CIS), a cross-government system, is updated and DWP will take the appropriate action on a case.

However, this service does not notify DWP of the cause or circumstances of a death, and DWP has no legitimate business reason to obtain or record this information.