The New Guidance on Talking about Suicide

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 23 October 2019.

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Photo of Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay Conservative 2:05, 23 October 2019

Minister, I think the fact we are able to discuss this previously taboo subject in the open and transparent way we do shows how far we've come as a country, and I think that's to be welcomed. We, of course, in this Chamber have our own direct experience of losing our much loved colleague, Carl Sargeant, in this tragic way, so I think there's an onus on all of us to do what we can to try and get the message out there, to tell people that they don't have to feel so lost that they have to turn to this course of action.

It's been good to see recently that television programmes such as EastEnders have been dealing with the issue of suicide with the moving storylines surrounding Bex Fowler and her stress over moving on to university. We know that young people are particularly vulnerable at the time of exams and, in a way, it's hard to avoid all of that stress, but it's important that those young people are signposted at the earliest opportunity, and that window of opportunity—and sometimes it is only a window—is taken the most advantage of to reach out to them.

So, can you tell us how you are ensuring, with this guidance that Lynne Neagle has mentioned, and you have mentioned, that young people are signposted as soon there are issues arising, and they do feel that there are people that they can turn to when sometimes they feel that all is lost?