Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government why claimants of out-of-work
disability benefits are not included as a high-risk group in
their latest suicide prevention strategy.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health
and Social Care () (Con)
The actions in the new suicide prevention strategy for England
are informed by the existing and emerging evidence, by engagement
with people with expertise in suicide prevention, including
people with lived experience, and by the mental health call for
evidence. This strategy is population-wide and the actions within
it aim to support as many people as possible, including those on
out-of-work disability benefits.
(Lab)
I thank the Minister for that Answer, but I am not sure that
clarifies this issue. This issue concerns one bit of government
not heeding the research of another bit. NHS Digital’s Adult
Psychiatric Morbidity Survey clearly shows that more than 43% of
ESA claimants—that is employment and support allowance
out-of-work disability benefit claimants—have considered suicide,
compared with 7% of non-ESA claimants. The argument that this
group should be included in the NHS suicide prevention strategy
was made five years ago, and it was not included with no
explanation. We now have the new suicide prevention strategy, and
they are omitted again. I would like the Minister to clarify
whether this group will be included in the Government’s—actually
rather good—suicide prevention strategy or not, and if not, why
not?
(Con)
What the strategy is trying to do is to look at those high risk
groups and the risk factors behind them. One of the biggest risk
factors causing suicidal thoughts are financial difficulties,
which of course out-of-work disability benefits come into. One of
the highest groups in terms of priority are middle-aged men, who
are often the people suffering in this space. There are other
groups as well, such as children and young people, pregnant
women, new mothers and autistic people. There is a range, and
what we are trying to do in this strategy is hit those areas of
highest risk. To put this into context, those people on all DWP
benefits in the reviews done on suicide make up less than 1% of
the population of suicides. What we are trying to do is hit the
major risk groups.
(LD)
My Lords, the suicide prevention strategy says that DWP staff
will be trained to identify benefit claimants who express
suicidal thoughts and escalate these appropriately. Can the
Minister confirm that the DWP will collect data on out-of-work
disability benefit claimants who are caught or flagged by the
system, so that we can understand whether or not this new policy
is as effective as we would all want it to be?
(Con)
Yes, and I had the opportunity, because I used to be the lead NED
at DWP, to go along to a number of jobcentres and see the sorts
of work that they do. They have two things. They have an
independent review of each of these, and those are the stats I
was using: they get about 50 cases a year in these categories.
Where there is a serious case they have a serious case review,
independently chaired with a Permanent Secretary on it as well.
(Con)
I remind the House of my personal interest: I have family members
claiming ESA. I advise my noble friend the Minister that I am
awaiting an appointment with DWP Ministers following Questions
that I tabled before the Summer Recess about the suicide rate
among disabled benefits claimants—in fact, among all benefits
claimants. My concern is not only around the way the DWP collects
data but around the way it sometimes does not disseminates the
information that it has. Will my noble friend pause in relying
totally on the way in which the DWP produces data at present? For
example, I am particularly concerned about how it collects
information from coroners’ courts. This is something that I think
is ongoing; I hope that my noble friend regards it in that way as
well.
(Con)
We are definitely always looking to improve, get access to better
data and learn lessons from that. I will make sure that that is
understood and follow up with DWP Ministers accordingly.
(CB)
My Lords, I declare my interests in medicine. The new suicide
prevention strategy is most welcome, but do the Government
recognise that the ONS data shows that the time of diagnosis and
first treatment of those with severe health conditions can be a
high-risk time when they feel devastated and often do not have
adequate support? The way in which news is communicated and bad
news is given to them alters their risk of suicide, particularly
in those who have been bereaved by suicide previously. Will the
Government therefore put pressure on NHS England and the GMC to
ensure that communication skills are included in revalidation and
appraisal processes so that patients get better support and are
steered towards the new SR1 benefit, which is designed
specifically for people with poor prognoses and can play a really
important role in relieving financial pressures?
(Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for her support for the suicide
prevention strategy. It tries to look at the themes behind this
issue, of which working to give effective support, communication
and training is absolutely key—as is making sure that that is
followed up on. The other thing that I want to pull out from the
report is the real feeling, in terms of the seven key themes,
that suicide prevention is everyone’s business and is something
that we all need to be aware of and could learn more about.
(LD)
My Lords, the Minister has outlined how important it is to learn
from the experience of people who have considered suicide. Last
week, an Information Rights Tribunal asked the DWP to publish its
secret report on suicide rates among vulnerable claimants; it has
not yet been published despite the fact that it was written in
2019. Can the Minister explain why it still has not been
published? If not—I appreciate that this falls under the DWP—can
he write to me, because it is clear that we need to learn the
lessons of what went wrong?
(Con)
Absolutely. I would be happy to write to the noble Baroness.
(Lab)
My Lords, on the suicide prevention strategy more generally, does
the Minister share my concern at the figures published today by
the ONS showing that the suicide rate among offenders in the
community is six times that of the general population and the
suicide rate among female offenders in the community is 11 times
that of the general population? Surely this points to the need
for priority action.
(Con)
The noble Lord is absolutely correct. The priority groups
identified include people in the justice system for exactly that
reason; likewise, as I mentioned, middle-aged men, who are three
times more likely to commit suicide. There is a strategy behind
each priority group—people with poor mental health, people on the
autistic spectrum, pregnant women, people who self-harm, children
and young people, as well as people in the justice system—in
terms of how we help and support them.
My Lords, as we have heard, our financial situation has a serious
impact on our health and mental well-being. This is supported by
recent polling commissioned by Christians Against Poverty. This
issue is not just about more disease; it also includes
malnutrition, mental health and failing to take time off when
sick due to financial insecurity. What assessment have the
Government made of the impact of the cost of living crisis on
people’s mental health, particularly in our most deprived and
vulnerable communities? What steps are the Government taking to
reduce health inequalities, specifically those related to
suicide?
(Con)
It is understood that people’s financial well-being—or lack
thereof—is one of the key causes here. Interestingly, as I looked
at the statistics, there was a big jump up in the suicide rate
from 2008 onwards, following the financial crisis. It is about
making the point that, when people feel under more stress, they
are, unfortunately, more likely to commit suicide. However, if
you look at the statistics over the past five years, the rate has
been pretty flat; so far, there is no evidence to show that, in
the past year or so, the cost of living crisis has caused more
suicides. None the less, it is something that we absolutely need
to stay on top of and ensure that we are monitoring closely, as
the right reverend Prelate the mentioned.
(Con)
My noble friend the Minister rightly said earlier that suicide
prevention is all our responsibility—or something like that—and
that we need more awareness. Can he enlighten us on some
programmes to increase awareness of suicide prevention so that we
recognise that it is the responsibility of someone’s wider
family, wider community and others and so that they are aware of
the signs to look for?
(Con)
Yes. Effective bereavement support comes into this in a similar
way. There are a number of communication methods, which I will
happily share in writing so that noble Lords can see them, but
there is also a full marketing and support plan around them.
(CB)
My Lords, can the Minister assure us that DWP staff are being
trained properly in recognising the suicide risk of such
claimants? One of the most important things is that people
largely want to work and getting rejected following job
interviews is a huge risk for that particular population.
(Con)
Absolutely. It is my understanding that all front-line DWP staff
have two days of mental health training in precisely this area.
Also, their stated objective is to support people in what they
can do and support them into work based on their abilities. We
all know that work gives people a big feeling of self-worth and
confidence and is a key to both physical and mental health.
