Gary Dennis COOPER · Prevention of Future Deaths report

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Issued 12 Jan 2023•Cumbria

Published report and response evidence

This report’s concerns and statements found in recipients’ published responses. Statements are included even where no link to an individual concern is recorded. A link shows an evidence connection; it does not assign responsibility.

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Concerns
0

Raised in this report

Recipients
2

Named on the report

Responses found
1

Of 2 recipients

Stated actions
9

Described in responses

Recipients and published responses

Full report text

This is the full text from the original published report.

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Concerns and recipient responses

Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

Concerns raised0

    Stated actions An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.9

    1. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Support voluntary-sector partners engaging search engines and online platforms to minimise harmful suicide-related content.

    2. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Monitor online forums for self-harm and suicide content involving potential emerging methods.

    3. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Publish a new national suicide prevention strategy.

    4. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Engage widely across the suicide prevention sector to identify further measures to reduce suicides.

    5. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Work with media and online platforms to reduce information availability about emerging suicide methods.

    6. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Take forward a new criminal offence covering communications that intentionally encourage or assist serious self-harm.

    7. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Chair the emerging methods working group to identify and tackle emerging suicide methods.

    8. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Invest an additional £57 million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan, supporting local prevention plans and bereavement services.

    9. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

      Provide funding for a support programme helping local authorities strengthen suicide prevention plans.

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Support voluntary-sector partners engaging search engines and online platforms to minimise harmful suicide-related content.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “ideation and at crisis point, we support our partners across the voluntary sector to engage with search engines and online platforms to minimise the availability of harmful, suicide-related content online.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 3 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

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    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Monitor online forums for self-harm and suicide content involving potential emerging methods.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “The Department chairs an emerging methods working group, with representatives from our partners in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sectors, to enable us to rapidly identify and proactively tackle emerging methods of suicide as quickly and effectively as possible, with a series of interventions to reduce access and awareness. This includes actions to minimise awareness of and tackle the sale of this substance for the purpose of suicide. Members of this group continue to monitor online forums for self-harm and suicide content that may include future emerging methods.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 2 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Publish a new national suicide prevention strategy.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “We have committed to publish a new national suicide prevention strategy later this year and are engaging widely across the sector to understand what further action we can take to reduce cases of suicides.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 3 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Engage widely across the suicide prevention sector to identify further measures to reduce suicides.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “We have committed to publish a new national suicide prevention strategy later this year and are engaging widely across the sector to understand what further action we can take to reduce cases of suicides.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 3 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Work with media and online platforms to reduce information availability about emerging suicide methods.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “In addition to this, the group continues to work with the media and online platforms to try and reduce the availability of information about emerging methods of suicide. This has led to the substance name being removed from articles where it was originally named.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 2 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Take forward a new criminal offence covering communications that intentionally encourage or assist serious self-harm.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “I also want to make you aware of the Government’s commitment to take forward a new self-harm communications offence, which will add a further layer of protection, on top of those in the Bill’s regulatory framework. The offence will capture communications that intentionally encourage or assist serious self-harm. The new criminal law will protect all potential victims - children as well as adults - and will capture communications online as well as offline. Once the offence is introduced, all companies will have to remove such content.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 2 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Chair the emerging methods working group to identify and tackle emerging suicide methods.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “The Department chairs an emerging methods working group, with representatives from our partners in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sectors, to enable us to rapidly identify and proactively tackle emerging methods of suicide as quickly and effectively as possible, with a series of interventions to reduce access and awareness. This includes actions to minimise awareness of and tackle the sale of this substance for the purpose of suicide. Members of this group continue to monitor online forums for self-harm and suicide content that may include future emerging methods.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 2 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Invest an additional £57 million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan, supporting local prevention plans and bereavement services.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Finally, it is vital that we continue to take action nationally and in local areas to prevent suicides. We are investing an additional £57 million in suicide prevention by March 2024 through the NHS Long Term Plan. Through this, all areas of the country are seeing investment to support local suicide prevention plans and the development of suicide bereavement services.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 3 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Provide funding for a support programme helping local authorities strengthen suicide prevention plans.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “We know that as many as two thirds of people who take their own life are not known to mental health services or have not had contact with those services for at least a year prior to death. This is why it is important that local communities have suicide prevention plans that take into consideration their local populations. Every local authority has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place and, in 2021/22, we provided over £550,000 to the Local Government Association for a support programme to help local authorities strengthen their plans.”

    Source location

    Response from Department of Health and Social Care
    Page 3 · response
    Published 23 January 2023

    Open published response
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    Information checked against the published report and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

    Data last updated 7 September 2026