Self-harm: Young People

Question

14:38:00

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what up-to-date information they have on the level of self-harm among young people under the age of 18; and what plans they have to address the problem.

My Lords, published data from NHS England shows that in 2023, 9.4% of 8 to 16 year-olds and 36.8% of 17 to 24 year-olds had tried to harm themselves at some point in their lives. We are committed to identifying children and young people, and adults, who have self-harmed or who are at risk, for tailored or targeted action, which also forms part of delivering the suicide prevention strategy for England.

I thank the Minister for her helpful response, but is she aware of recent research for the WHO? More than a third of 15 year-olds said that they had deliberately self-harmed—one in two girls and one in five boys—but the gender gap is closing. Almost one in four of both girls and boys self-harmed in the last week, and nearly 90% of self-harm incidents involving12 to 17 year-olds are unreported. Perhaps the Minister could outline the Government’s plans for turning around this worrying and worsening trend.

I definitely share my noble friend’s concern about what is a worrying trend, and I can confirm that I am aware of the research to which he refers. In addition to the suicide prevention strategy, we are providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England. We are rolling out Young Futures hubs and recruiting 8,500 mental health workers, and we continue to fund and benefit from the multi-centre study of self-harm to inform the development of policy and clinical practice, in order to tackle the very real and serious problem that my noble friend describes.

My Lords, we know that self-harm is most common amongst 15 to 24 year-olds, particularly young women. As we have already heard, there are so many challenges in accessing the mental health support that young people need that often, they cannot get it before their mental health problems get worse. The Minister already referred to the rollout of Young Futures hubs. Can she tell the House when there will be such a hub in every local area, to ensure that young people can access the support they need at the earliest signs of emerging mental health problems?

The noble Baroness is quite right that it is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need. Our determination to change that, as she says, is about rolling out Young Futures hubs in communities. We are at an early stage of developing the plans, and I very much look forward to continuing to work across government to deliver this and to updating your Lordships’ House.

My Lords, there has been an alarming number of so-called sextortion cases targeting teenagers who, tragically, have gone on to take their own lives. Are the Government working with schools to tackle the stigma that children sadly feel, and to give them the confidence to report this abuse?

The noble Baroness makes a very strong observation. The statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education is under review, and we are working closely with the Department for Education on that review. I emphasise again the funding of the multi-centre study of self-harm, whose work is vital in getting to the core of the issues the noble Baroness raises.

My Lords, the Minister will, I know, agree that self-harm needs to be taken very seriously indeed. Access to child and adolescent mental health services has got worse. I am told—I hope that it is wrong—that in some parts of the country access is delayed for more than a year. Can the Minister assure the House that this is being addressed?

I can indeed assure the noble Lord and your Lordships’ House that this is being addressed, and I recognise the situation that he refers to. Early intervention on mental health is vital if we want to stop young people needing to reach for crisis support. Following on from my previous answer, there is no doubt that schools and colleges play an extremely important part, and that is why we have made the commitments on action that I previously outlined.

My Lords, last month, Susannah Hancock, a member of the Youth Justice Board, published her independent review into placement for girls in custody. Many of the professionals that she consulted through that review identified self-harm by girls in secure settings as one of the biggest areas of concern. In the 12 months to September 2024, 55% of all self-harm incidents in the youth custody service involved girls, although they make up only 1.6% of the total average population in these settings. Can the Minister assure me that her department intends to collaborate with the MoJ to act on the report’s partnership recommendation to ensure greater consistency of good practice in responding to girls in custody who self-harm, including developing clear and consistent protocols on whether and how restraint is used, in order to prevent further traumatisation?

The right reverend Prelate makes some key points. I can certainly assure her that I am working with the MoJ on the area she describes, where risk is indeed high, despite the numbers. We must be very alert to that.

My Lords, we all know the importance of evidence in driving and developing better policy. Regarding the data, what do we know, what gaps in knowledge are the Government aware of and what are they doing to fill those gaps to drive better policy? As an aside, how is the department working with, say, local community civil society projects, which may well be working in local communities with people who have self-harmed and survived or who are in danger of self-harming?

The role of civil society is crucial. I have had a number of very helpful meetings and visits, including most recently with the Samaritans. We very much believe that that sector supports the delivery of not just the national suicide prevention strategy, of which tackling self-harm is part, but tackling self-harm where it is not linked directly with suicide. I refer the noble Lord to the work being undertaken by the multi-centre study of self-harm, which I know will be of interest. It has a long-standing research programme to keep an eye on—more than keep an eye on—and examine self-harm trends, and the findings also inform NICE clinical guidance. Recent research has looked at different ethnic minority groups, the characteristics and outcomes for children under 13 who self-harm, and patterns and risk factors for self-harm among university students—and that is just a snapshot.

My Lords, those of us who are not experts but have some direct experience of this problem know that self-harm is not just one thing; it can come in a number of forms. One of the problems for families is that it is not always easy to spot, at least not initially. Can my noble friend say in what way families are being supported to identify and then help young people who are beginning to exhibit signs of self-harm?

My noble friend is right: it is crucial that, where they are able to, friends, family and communities assist those at risk and those who are actually self-harming. The recommendation is that people should not hesitate to speak to a GP or access the free listening services that are available through not just the NHS but the Samaritans, for example.

The publication of the online safety children’s code by Ofcom last week received mixed reviews from many and a howl of fury from both Ian Russell and the Children’s Commissioner. Can the Minister say what the Government make of the fact that the children’s code makes no provision whatsoever for live streaming, nor for deliberately extending its use, both of which increase harm and were identified in the evidence of Ofcom itself?

That is a matter, as the noble Baroness knows, for my ministerial colleagues in DSIT, and I will gladly raise her comments with them. Obviously, the Online Safety Act requires all sites in scope to rapidly remove illegal suicide and self-harm content and proactively protect users from illegal content. I am aware of the differences of opinion that the noble Baroness refers to, and I will gladly take that up with my colleagues.