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

Background

A report published in November 2023 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland 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.

Read the Equality and Human Rights Monitor 2023: Is Scotland Fairer? report

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, another report published in January 2024 showed that the suicide rate in Scotland has been consistently higher than the suicide rate in Northern Ireland, Wales and England.

Read the UK Parliament suicide statistics research briefing

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.

Read Scotland's Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-2032: Creating Hope Together in 2022

Read the accompanying Action Plan covering the period 2022 to 2025

Read the Year 1 Delivery Plan (2023-2024)

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.

1. Build a whole of Government and society approach to address the social determinants which have the greatest link to suicide risk
2. Strengthen Scotland’s awareness and responsiveness to suicide and people who are suicidal
3. Promote and provide effective, timely, compassionate support – that promotes wellbeing and recovery
4. Embed a coordinated, collaborative and integrated approach

In this short inquiry, the Committee aims were to:

• scrutinise the Suicide Prevention Strategy, its anticipated outcomes and progress to date.
• assess whether the Scottish Government is allocating enough money to the Strategy
• investigate whether budget spend in other areas of Government will help or hinder the Strategy's delivery
• establish to what degree the Strategy accounts for the unequal distribution of deaths from suicide across different populations groups
• determine the extent to which the strategy acknowledges the voices of people with lived experience