The Department has made no assessment of the levels of self-harm in the above named areas.

The numbers of finished admission episodes (FAEs)¹ with a cause code² of self-harm for residents of Ashfield constituency³, Nottinghamshire County Primary Care Trust (PCX)⁴

area and East Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA)⁴ area, for 2011-12, the most recent period for which data is available, are shown in the following table:

The Department currently funds the Multi-Centre Study on Self-harm which collects data on episodes and trends in self-harm. The Multicentre study has had departmental funding of £2 million over five years.

Our Suicide Prevention Strategy (September 2012) recognises those with a history of self-harm may be at higher risk of suicide, and the Department will continue to support high-quality research on suicide, suicide prevention and self-harm through the National Institute for Health Research and the Policy Research Programme. This programme will collect and analyse data on suicide and self-harm; evaluate different forms of risk assessment following self-harm; develop guidelines on the management of episodes of self-harm where individuals have made advance decisions on treatment; and develop resources for parents of young people who self-harm.

The suicide prevention strategy is backed by up to £1.5 million for suicide prevention research through the Policy Research Programme including a substantial amount of work to look at the issue of self-harm. We will know what awards have been made in spring 2013.

We have made it clear that mental and physical health have to be seen as equally important. For suicide prevention, this will mean effectively managing the mental health aspects, as well as any physical injuries, when people who have self-harmed come to accident and emergency. It will also mean having an effective 24-hour response to mental health crises, as well as for physical health.

Self-harm is a major risk factor for suicide, with around half of people dying by suicide having a previous history of self-harm. This is why we highlighted self-harm in the suicide prevention strategy for England published in September 2012. The suicide prevention strategy is backed by up to £1.5 million funding for suicide prevention research. We have invited research proposals looking at a number of areas, including how to reduce the risk of suicide in people with a history of self-harm.

In 2004 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on self-harm. This covered the short-term physical and psychological management and secondary prevention of self-harm in primary and secondary care. It sets out the care people who harm themselves can expect to receive from health care professionals in hospital and out of hospital; the information they can expect to receive; what they can expect from treatment and what kinds of services best help people who harm themselves. Following on from this guideline, in November 2011, NICE issued a clinical practice guideline on the longer-term management of self-harm.

In the Community Mental Health Profiles 2013 published by the North East Public Health Observatory levels of self-harm in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland are much higher than the national average. For people who are admitted to accident and emergency with deliberate self-harm injuries, local mental health trust, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), provides liaison psychiatry services in all three acute hospitals in Teesside. TEWV staff work with colleagues at University Hospital of Hartlepool, University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton and James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough to assess patients with mental health problems, and help them to access the services they need.

Self-harm is a major risk factor for suicide, with around half of people dying by suicide having a previous history of self-harm. This is why we highlighted self-harm in the suicide prevention strategy for England published in September 2012. The suicide prevention strategy is backed by up to £1.5 million funding for suicide prevention research. We have invited research proposals looking at a number of areas, including how to reduce the risk of suicide in people with a history of self-harm.

In 2004 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on self-harm. This covered the short-term physical and psychological management and secondary prevention of self-harm in primary and secondary care. It sets out the care people who harm themselves can expect to receive from health care professionals in hospital and out of hospital; the information they can expect to receive; what they can expect from treatment and what kinds of services best help people who harm themselves. Following on from this guideline, in November 2011, NICE issued a clinical practice guideline on the longer-term management of self-harm.

In the Community Mental Health Profiles 2013 published by the North East Public Health Observatory levels of self-harm in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland are much higher than the national average. For people who are admitted to accident and emergency with deliberate self-harm injuries, local mental health trust, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), provides liaison psychiatry services in all three acute hospitals in Teesside. TEWV staff work with colleagues at University Hospital of Hartlepool, University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton and James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough to assess patients with mental health problems, and help them to access the services they need.

Prisoners who are considered as being at-risk of self-harm may be placed on an Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) Plan. ACCT is a prisoner focused care planning system for those prisoners identified as being at-risk of self-harm and/or suicide. ACCT has helped prisons to manage prisoners’ risk of self-harm and suicide since 2007. Establishments record and monitor the number of prisoners supported through an ACCT plan locally. There is currently no ability to centrally report this information.

The vast majority of self-harm is not directly life threatening but nevertheless can be extremely distressing both for those affected by it and those who have to deal with it. There are no easy solutions to self-harm but we remain committed to managing and finding ways to reduce it.

The latest available figures show that 6,623 individual prisoners self-harmed in 2010 and 6,854 in 2011. The figures for 2012 are not due to be published until April 2013.

The latest available figures for HMP Lincoln show that 78 individual prisoners self-harmed in 2010 and 95 in 2011. Figures for 2012 will not be available until April 2013.

Prisoners who are considered as being at-risk of self-harm may be placed on an Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) Plan. ACCT is a prisoner focused care planning system for those prisoners identified as being at-risk of self-harm and/or suicide. ACCT has helped prisons to manage prisoners’ risk of self-harm and suicide since 2007. Establishments record and monitor the number of prisoners supported through an ACCT plan locally. There is currently no ability to centrally report this information.

The vast majority of self-harm is not directly life threatening but nevertheless can be extremely distressing both for those affected by it and those who have to deal with it. There are no easy solutions to self-harm but we remain committed to managing and finding ways to reduce it.

The latest available figures show that 6,623 individual prisoners self-harmed in 2010 and 6,854 in 2011. The figures for 2012 are not due to be published until April 2013.

The latest available figures for HMP Lincoln show that 78 individual prisoners self-harmed in 2010 and 95 in 2011. Figures for 2012 will not be available until April 2013.

The Ministry of Justice is only responsible for prisons in England and Wales. Statistics for other areas of the UK should be obtained from the respective Administration. The number of individuals reported as self-harming in England and Wales for 2010 and 2011 are given in the following table.

Statistics on the total number of individuals who self-harmed in English and Welsh establishments during 2010 and 2011 calendar years were provided in the Safety in Custody bulletin published in July 2012. This showed there were 6,623 individuals self-harming in 2010 and 6,854 individuals self-harming in 2011. The sum of individuals in the table will add up to more than these numbers as some individuals may be counted in more than one establishment if they have been transferred and committed an act considered to be self-harm in both establishments. Statistics on reported self-harm incidents for 2012 are scheduled to be published on 25 April 2013.

The Ministry of Justice is only responsible for prisons in England and Wales. Statistics for other areas of the UK should be obtained from the respective Administration. The number of individuals reported as self-harming in England and Wales for 2010 and 2011 are given in the following table.

Statistics on the total number of individuals who self-harmed in English and Welsh establishments during 2010 and 2011 calendar years were provided in the Safety in Custody bulletin published in July 2012. This showed there were 6,623 individuals self-harming in 2010 and 6,854 individuals self-harming in 2011. The sum of individuals in the table will add up to more than these numbers as some individuals may be counted in more than one establishment if they have been transferred and committed an act considered to be self-harm in both establishments. Statistics on reported self-harm incidents for 2012 are scheduled to be published on 25 April 2013.

The Ministry of Justice is only responsible for prisons in England and Wales. Statistics for other areas of the UK should be obtained from the respective Administration. The number of individuals reported as self-harming in England and Wales for 2010 and 2011 are given in the following table.

Statistics on the total number of individuals who self-harmed in English and Welsh establishments during 2010 and 2011 calendar years were provided in the Safety in Custody bulletin published in July 2012. This showed there were 6,623 individuals self-harming in 2010 and 6,854 individuals self-harming in 2011. The sum of individuals in the table will add up to more than these numbers as some individuals may be counted in more than one establishment if they have been transferred and committed an act considered to be self-harm in both establishments. Statistics on reported self-harm incidents for 2012 are scheduled to be published on 25 April 2013.

The Ministry of Justice is only responsible for prisons in England and Wales. Statistics for other areas of the UK should be obtained from the respective Administration. The number of individuals reported as self-harming in England and Wales for 2010 and 2011 are given in the following table.

Statistics on the total number of individuals who self-harmed in English and Welsh establishments during 2010 and 2011 calendar years were provided in the Safety in Custody bulletin published in July 2012. This showed there were 6,623 individuals self-harming in 2010 and 6,854 individuals self-harming in 2011. The sum of individuals in the table will add up to more than these numbers as some individuals may be counted in more than one establishment if they have been transferred and committed an act considered to be self-harm in both establishments. Statistics on reported self-harm incidents for 2012 are scheduled to be published on 25 April 2013.

My Lords, helplines provide a vital source of support and advice for children who are suffering abuse, worried about something or concerned about someone they know. For the period 2011-15 the Government have invested £54 million in the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies project to transform mental health services for children. For 2011-15 we have awarded the NSPCC a grant worth £11.2 million for investment in ChildLine and the NSPCC helpline.

My Lords, the right reverend Prelate will be aware that the question of how one can reduce the incidence of alcohol consumption has been under discussion for some time in other departments. In almost any town or city centre these days one can see young people, particularly young girls, under the influence of alcohol. I would say that broadly it comes under the same scope of giving young people self-respect and trying to encourage a sense of their own worth through improved behaviours delivered by proper education and guidance.

My Lords, from successive reports, has the Minister noted the role of alcohol in the phalanx of causes of self-harm among children? What is being done to reduce the availability of alcohol to teenagers?

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in the light of the ChildLine report, Saying the Unsayable: What’s Affecting Children in 2012, which highlighted a significant increase in the number of children contacting ChildLine about suicide and self-harm.

My noble friend has raised important issues and I assure her that the Government take them very seriously indeed, including the alarming stories about the grooming of young girls. However, each case of self-harm is the result of a complex mix of problems and there is no quick fix. Departments and services are looking actively at joining up information in order to provide integrated care and personalised services so that an individual’s problems can be tackled together and they are supported in finding a way out of self-destructive patterns of behaviour.

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that encouraging Answer. Over the past 25 years, ChildLine has saved the lives of many children and young people. However, there are serious concerns that last year, 92% more counselling was given to girls on self-harm than in the previous year, mainly because of depression, bullying and sexual abuse, especially for those who do not comprehend the nature of grooming and blame themselves. Will the Government put greater emphasis on tackling suicide and self-harm, focusing on prevention and the implications for schools, support agencies and professionals working with children who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, to give these young people hope, confidence and self-esteem?

I thank the noble Baroness. In fact, I do not have the statistics in front of me, so I will write to her. However, we do of course recognise the incredibly valuable work of school nurses and others in performing a pastoral role within schools.

My Lords, what percentage of schools have access to either a school counsellor or a school nurse? Can the Minister also say whether that percentage has gone up or gone down? I realise that this is a fairly technical question, so if she does not have the figures now, perhaps she will write to me.

My noble friend raises wider issues in this debate, which are of course entirely relevant but must always be balanced with freedom of speech and of information. That is a delicate balance to strike. Ministers from three departments—the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education—are working with the media and with the internet industry, particularly through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, to try to find ways of keeping children safe online. The Department of Health is also involved in that. The broader debate about further media is one that could be very profitably taken up within that.

Is my noble friend aware that the cluster of young suicides in Bridgend, south Wales, was no coincidence? It was preceded by the dissemination of very worrying images of suicide not just on internet sites but also in films and plays? What can the Government do to make theatre and film companies aware of the potential for damage to young, vulnerable and immature minds when these dark subjects are explored, so that it is done responsibly, if at all?

The noble Lord raises a very important point. It is increasingly vital that the different departments and services that work with children join up the information, so that a holistic picture of a vulnerable child can be built up, to avoid information slipping through the net, as has happened in one or two high-profile cases.