Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the rate of suicide among members of the fire service; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce such numbers.

Greg Clark

We do not hold information on the rate of deaths by suicide of firefighters. Individual fire and rescue authorities as employers are responsible for the health and welfare of firefighters, including their mental health. In October last year the Government announced the allocation of nearly £10 million to help support 200,000 emergency services personnel and volunteers, funded through LIBOR fines. Of this funding up to £4 million was allocated to mental health charity MIND to develop a programme of targeted mental health support and information for all emergency services personnel across England. The programme includes an anti-stigma campaign, a confidential advice line for emergency service staff, training for leaders and line managers, peer learning events and resources to promote better mental health in the work place. I encourage fire and rescue authorities to engage with this important programme.