Halfway through the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England: time to take stock

This week marks the mid-point of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England.

This is a crucial reflection point. A moment to take stock of progress since the Suicide Prevention Strategy was published in September 2023. But importantly, it's also an opportunity to look to the remaining two and a half years of the strategy, and urge the government to re-double efforts, and take action to save lives.

The publishing of the strategy was rightly celebrated by Samaritans and other Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. It was the result of years of campaigning, and a signal of intent from the previous government.

Whilst we will always want government to commit to more ambitious plans and dedicated funding for suicide prevention, we welcomed the measures identified in the strategy, acknowledging that every government department has a role to play.

We also welcomed this government’s commitment to tackling the biggest killers, including suicide.

However, since the 2024 general election, it feels like this government has not yet fully 'got going' on suicide prevention. The most we have heard about suicide prevention was in last year's Men's Health Strategy (Samaritans responds to government launching first men's health strategy).

It is unclear what progress has been made against the national Suicide Prevention Strategy which is why we're asking the government to publish a progress report on the strategy so far, and an action plan for the remainder.

Every suicide is a tragic loss felt by families, friends and communities, statistics can’t do justice to the emotional impact of each suicide. However, they can remind us just how urgent the challenge is.

The strategy set out to “reduce the suicide rate over the next five years – with initial reductions observed within half this time or sooner”. In this it has failed. It's clear that the number of suicides is not reducing and there's no indication that a reduction is imminent.

We recognise that some steps have been taken since the strategy began such as the government commitment to recruit 8,500 additional mental health staff, the publication of the Men’s Health Strategy and the pilot of 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres.

But, when looking at the commitments in the strategy, the progress still to be made is stark. For children and young people, access to mental health services remains woeful and it's still too hard to access community based self-harm support.

The Online Safety Act has yet to be fully implemented and, with the rapid growth in AI chatbot use, risks quickly becoming outdated.

So far we've not seen evidence of the significant, measurable progress needed to match the scale and urgency of the challenge.

That's why it is vital that the government publishes a comprehensive update on the delivery of the strategy to date. This must be transparent about what's been achieved so far, what actions haven't been progressed and crucially what the government plans to prioritise in the remainder of the strategy period. This update is important to ensure real accountability behind the strategy.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England correctly stated that suicide prevention requires a cross-government effort. Suicide prevention is a perfect focus for this “mission-driven” government. But it takes leadership and a government department to be leading the charge and holding others to account on the progress they're making (or not making).

The strategy also signaled that action would need to be in collaboration with the NHS, local government, the VCSE sector, employers and individuals.

But in the two and a half years since the strategy was released, cash-strapped local councils have seen their ring-fenced suicide prevention funding come to an end.

VCSE organisations – already so often plugging the gaps in public services – now see very little suicide prevention statutory funding. The £10 million VCSE Suicide Prevention Grant came to an end in March 2025 with no commitment from the government to renew the funding.

The midpoint of the strategy is an opportunity and also a responsibility to ensure the government delivers the change that it promised and reduces lives lost to suicide.

Getting the rest of the strategy period right is crucial and requires urgency, collaboration, and accountability. This must begin with the publication of a clear and transparent progress update and an action plan for the remainder of the strategy period.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy can save lives, but only if its ambitions are matched by meaningful action.

Jake Runacres

Policy and Influencing Manager