Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 12 September 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 September 2003. It was answered by Ivor Caplin (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 September 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 9th September 2003 at 410 c304-5W, if he will make it his policy to collate data centrally concerning incidents of self harm in army barracks; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 9 September 2003, ref. 127070, if he will make it his policy to collate data centrally concerning incidents of self harm in army barracks; and if he will make a statement. [130223] Mr. Caplin: I take the issue of self-harm in the armed forces extremely seriously. The collation of data in this area is complex, due to the number of agencies involved and the sensitivity of the information. However, I have commissioned work to trial the collection and analysis of the existing information for the Army. This work is due to report back later this year.

Secondary information