Government plans to reduce death by suicide in England

On 22 January 2019 the Government published its latest suicide prevention plan, which aspires to tackle the high levels of death by suicide in the country (Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), 2019a). As part of the plan the Government has also established a National Suicide Prevention Strategy Delivery Group (NSPSDG) (DHSC, 2019b). This group will oversee the implementation of the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Workplan and steer the strategies that have been designed for all sectors of national and local government to take steps to reduce suicides.

All political parties are concerned that there are 4500 suicides each year in England, with approximately 13 people ending their life every day (DHSC, 2019c). Men are three times more likely to end their life by suicide than women, making suicide the leading cause of death in men under 50, and, worryingly, suicide is now a leading cause of death in young people.