Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence the Government has considered on whether the absence of a statutory duty of care contributes to inconsistent responses by universities to students at risk of harm.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has considered a wide range of evidence in assessing the factors that contribute to variation in how higher education (HE) providers support students at risk of harm. This includes official statistics, coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths reports, and other case reviews that highlight issues with processes, communication and access to services relevant to consistency of support.
Our assessment has further drawn on extensive engagement with providers, students, bereaved families, mental health experts and sector leaders, including through provider surveys and the HE mental health implementation taskforce, where those with lived experience have shaped priorities and workstrands.
Last year, we also published the first ever national review of HE student suicide deaths, which analysed more than 160 serious incident reviews and identified operational issues such as information sharing, case management and staff training as key drivers of inconsistency. We are now working with the taskforce and the sector to embed the review’s recommendations and to strengthen monitoring and institutional accountability.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to implement the National Suicide Prevention Plan; and what further steps he is taking to help tackle suicide rates.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help, including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention, and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
The NHS England Medium Term Planning Framework states that in 2026/27, all integrated care boards must ensure mental health practitioners across all providers undertake training and deliver care in line with the guidance.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies and giving patients better access to all-hours support directly through the NHS App.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of Ofcom’s effectiveness in responding to harmful suicide, self-harm and depression-related content online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.
Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Ofcom's performance in enforcing the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.
Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of self-assessments provided by social media companies on risks of hosting suicide, self-harm and depression-related content in the context of Ofcom’s recent analysis of platform risk.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.
Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to launch a public awareness campaign to help tackle suicide.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department currently has no specific plans to launch a public awareness campaign to help tackle suicide.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help – including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention, and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
The NHS England Medium Term Planning Framework states that in 2026/27, all integrated care boards must ensure mental health practitioners across all providers undertake training and deliver care in line with the ‘Staying safe from suicide’ guidance.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies and giving patients better access to support directly through the NHS App, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand (a) early intervention and (b) targeted mental health support for women at risk of suicide in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including in Surrey and the Surrey Heath constituency, for both men and women. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups, including middle-aged men and pregnant women and new mothers, for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across the Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help, including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.
We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand (a) early intervention and (b) targeted mental health support for men at risk of suicide in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including in Surrey and the Surrey Heath constituency, for both men and women. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups, including middle-aged men and pregnant women and new mothers, for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across the Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help, including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.
We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what requirements exist for follow-up contact within 48 hours of discharge from inpatient mental health services; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS compliance with these requirements.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no requirement that exists for follow-up contact within 48 hours of discharge from inpatient mental health services. There is, however, a follow up requirement for 72 hours post discharge, based on evidence from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health that there is an increased risk of dying by suicide within this period.
This has been part of the NHS Standard Contract since 1 April 2020, which states that all people discharged from integrated care board (ICB) commissioned inpatient mental health services should be followed up within 72 hours. This applies to everyone who is discharged from an ICB-commissioned adult mental health inpatient bed to their place of residence, care home, residential accommodation, or to non-psychiatric care. All avenues need to be exploited to ensure patients are followed up within 72 hours of discharge.
This follow up requirement is reinforced through national statutory guidance on Discharge from mental health inpatient settings and data on performance is published on a monthly basis, with 73.3% of discharges in September 2025 meeting the ambition.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of volunteer-led men’s mental health groups on mental wellbeing and NHS services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of volunteer-led men’s mental health groups on mental wellbeing and National Health Services.
More widely, the 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including for men. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies middle aged men as a priority group for targeted and tailored support at a national level.
On 19 November, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the Men’s Health Strategy. The strategy includes tangible actions to improve access to healthcare, provide the right support to enable men to make healthier choices, develop healthy living and working conditions, foster strong social, community and family networks, and address societal norms. It also considers how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men of all ages, which include mental health and suicide prevention, respiratory illness, prostate cancer, and heart disease.
Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.
We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.