Suicide prevention strategy

Overview

The Equalities Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee is running a short inquiry into the Scottish Government and COSLA’s Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-2032.

The Committee welcomes responses to the key questions below.

Background

A recent report shows that the age standard mortality rate for Scotland for 2018 - 2022 had increased to 14.4 suicides per 100,000 population from a rate of 13.3 in 2013 - 2017.

The report also showed significant inequalities in the suicide statistics:

• the rate of suicide mortality in the most deprived areas in Scotland was 2.6 times higher than in the least deprived areas in Scotland - this is higher than the deprivation gap of 1.8 times for all causes of death
• the mortality rate for suicides in 2022 was 2.9 times higher for males, compared to females

In addition, last month another report showed that the suicide rate in Scotland has been consistently higher than the suicide rate in Northern Ireland, Wales and England.

Scottish Government and COSLA’s Suicide Prevention Strategy

In 2022, the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) published Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-2032: Creating Hope Together in 2022. Published alongside this strategy was an Action Plan covering the period 2022 to 2025. A Year 1 Delivery Plan (2023-24) was published in December 2023.

The Strategy's vision is to reduce the number of suicide deaths in Scotland. It also aims to tackle the inequalities which contribute to suicide.

The Strategy also outlines four long term outcomes.

Key questions

• in your view, what factors contribute to the rates of suicide in Scotland?
• what actions could we take as a society to reduce suicide rates in Scotland?
• to what extent do you believe that the Scottish Government and COSLA’s Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022 to 2032 and delivery plan will achieve its vision of reducing the number of suicide deaths in Scotland?
• to what extent do you believe the Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022 to 2032 and delivery plan will reduce inequalities which contribute to differing suicide rates between groups?
• do you think that sufficient funding is available to implement and support the Strategy and delivery plan?
• to what degree have the voices of people with lived experience of suicide been meaningfully considered within the development of the Strategy and its implementation?

How to submit your views

When you respond to our call for views, you will be presented with our Privacy Notice about submitting your views to a Committee. Please read this as it explains how we process personal data.

Please also note that in most cases your submission will be published on the Scottish Parliament's website and may be quoted in the Committee's report or in Committee meetings (which are public and broadcast). If you wish to respond anonymously, you will have the option to do so.

The deadline to submit your views is 29 March 2024.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language.

Due to the time required to process and analyse evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the agreement of the Committee Clerk.