2. To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation has been made of its previous suicide prevention strategy, and how this will underpin its updated mental health strategy. (S5O-00721)

No formal evaluation has been made of the “Suicide Prevention Strategy 2013-2016”. However, over the past three years, the Scottish Government’s suicide prevention strategy implementation and monitoring group met on seven occasions and advised on progress on the various commitments. Adjustments have been made as appropriate to actions arising from the commitments in light of that discussion and advice.

The engagement process for the mental health strategy included discussion about suicide prevention. We have also undertaken some engagement with key stakeholders from the national health service, the third sector and academia to help to inform us about which areas we should focus on in a future suicide prevention strategy or action plan. Therefore, we have evidence from those processes about stakeholders’ views on suicide prevention. Later in 2017, we will undertake some wider engagement to allow stakeholders the opportunity to feed in their views.

Members will be well aware that suicide still represents the leading cause of death among men under the age of 50 in Scotland. Nearly 15 years has passed since the choose life initiative was launched. That resulted in an 18 per cent reduction in suicides in the country, which shows that policy focus can have a positive impact on the matter. To that end, will the Minister indicate when the most recent suicide prevention strategy, which expired last year, will be replaced and what measures a new strategy may contain?

As I indicated in my answer, we continue to monitor the effectiveness of the current suicide prevention strategy, which continues until a new one is published. As the member is aware, at the moment we are concentrating on the mental health strategy, but we will review the current suicide prevention strategy in due course.

From 2011 to 2015, the rates of suicide in Ayrshire and Arran, Grampian and Tayside were significantly lower than the rates in the rest of Scotland, while the rates in Lothian and Highland were significantly higher, even when deprivation and other factors are considered. Have the reasons for those differences been examined in order to learn lessons that can help to reduce suicide rates elsewhere in Scotland?

As Kenneth Gibson knows, suicide is a very complex phenomenon with a wide range of determinants. Any assessment of difference between rates of suicide in local areas must be treated with caution, because the absolute numbers in local areas are much smaller than national numbers.

We are investing in research such as the Scottish suicide information database, which is helping to cast new light on factors behind individual deaths by suicide. That includes consideration of suicide trends in NHS board areas. That research will inform our engagement later this year on future priorities for suicide prevention.

As the member knows, the provision of services is a local responsibility and individual NHS boards work with their partners to tailor local suicide prevention work to fit locally assessed needs and circumstances.

There is clearly a link between deprivation and suicide rates. What work is the Government doing to tackle inequality in Scotland, which has been rising in the last 10 years?

Secondly, following on from Alex Cole-Hamilton’s question, I note that males are three times as likely to commit suicide but only half as likely to access mental health services. How can we get the message across to the most deprived communities and to the hardest-to-reach males that they should access those vital services?

Across the Government, we are doing all we can to reduce inequality and that is certainly a key factor in the health directorates. On the point about hard-to-reach people, that is why it is important that the provision of services is a local responsibility so that local partners can work to fit the needs of their local communities.

The Minister has recognised that there is a need to refresh local suicide prevention action around the country. Will she update Parliament on how local suicide prevention schemes will be supported as the national strategy is developed?

As the member has indicated, I am aware that MSPs have had a number of emails on that issue—as have I—and that will be taken into account when we develop the next strategy.