Suicide

Introduction

In September 2023 the Government released Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy aiming to reduce the number of lives lost to suicide.

While all areas of the country now have local suicide prevention plans and suicide bereavement services in place and the overall current suicide rate is not significantly higher than in 2012, the rate is not falling. The aim of this cross-government strategy is to bring everybody together around common priorities and set out actions that can be taken to:

• • • reduce the suicide rate over the next 5 years – with initial reductions observed within half this time or sooner

    • improve support for people who have self-harmed

    • improve support for people bereaved by suicide

Suicide remains a major public health issue as Blackpool continues to have one of the highest suicide rates in the country; steps need to be taken to reduce the number of suicides locally.

Facts and figures

Deaths from suicide in England increased from 5,656 in 2023 to 5,717 in 2024. The rate of 11.1 per 100,000 pop. remains similar to the 11.2 of the previous year.¹ Figures for Blackpool for 2022-24 show:

• • Blackpool had the eighth highest rate of suicide of any upper tier local authority in England, for all persons (aged 10 years and over), during the period 2022-24 (figure 1)

  • Blackpool has a significantly higher suicide rate  (17.1 per 100,000 population) than England as a whole (10.9)

  • There were 64 deaths from suicide and undetermined injury registered in the three-year period 2022-24

  • 78% (50) were male, 22% (14) were female.

Figure 1: Mortality from suicide and injury undetermined, upper-tier local authorities, 2022-24 (persons aged over 10)

Figure 2 shows there is a significant difference in the number of suicides between the sexes in Blackpool, the North West and England. Mortality from suicide and undetermined injury is over three times higher in males compared to females. While numbers were low, Blackpool did have an increasing trend in female suicides from 2017-19 to 2020-22 (figure 3). However, the rate has now fallen back and is similar to England in the 2022-24 period. The trend for males does fluctuate but the overall trend has been relatively constant over the last 15 years.

Figure 2: Mortality from suicide and injury undetermined, males, females and persons, 2022-24

Figure 3: Trend in male and female suicide rate, Blackpool: 2001-03 to 2022-24

The average age of suicide in Blackpool was 47 for males and 42 for females.  Over a third (36%) were aged 25-44 years and a further 38% were aged 45-64 years. 16% were aged over 65 years and 11% were aged under 25 years.

Figure 4 shows the overall trend in the mortality rate from suicide in Blackpool, the North West and England. Apart from in 2009-11, Blackpool has remained significantly higher than England as a whole since 2001-03 and the trend has been relatively static.

Figure 4: Trend in mortality from suicide and injury undetermined, 2001-03 to 2022-24 (persons aged over 10)

Source: DHSC, Suicide Prevention Profile 

Blackpool Suicide Audit 2024 - executive summary

To provide a more complete picture on risk and related factors, the Blackpool Public Health team completed a thematic review of 27 deaths occurring between January 2022 and September 2023, with 20 of those deaths being Blackpool residents.  In the latter group of 20 residents, key findings included:

• • There were 15 deaths with a verdict of suicide following inquest, with the rest reaching a narrative or misadventure verdict.
  • The majority of cases were male, aged 45 and over, heterosexual, single at the time of death and living in the more deprived areas of the town.
  • Out of the 20 deaths, 14 had been born elsewhere, with 13 of those outside of the Lancashire area.  However, the records available did not show when those individuals had moved to Blackpool.
  • Most of the 20 individuals resided in the most deprived parts of the town.
  • Most deaths occurred in the individual’s own home.
  • There were 10 cases showing some contact with custody and six of these had multiple custody incidents ranging between 4 and 32.  There was contact within the last six months for five cases.
  • There were some issues with data collection, but where data was available, a history of drug and alcohol misuse, self-harm, previous attempts and physical and mental health conditions were present.
  • Where data was available, there was evidence of contact with services prior to death e.g. primary care, emergency department, mental health services and drug and alcohol treatment.

The recommendations from this audit will be included as part of the Blackpool Suicide Prevention Strategy priorities and action plan.

Ambulance callouts relating to psychiatric problems and/or suicide

Data from Safer Lancashire shows Blackpool has the highest ambulance incidence rate for psychiatric/suicide attempts in the Lancashire-14 area.² There were 772 callouts for psychiatric/suicide attempts in Blackpool, out of 3,862 for the same across Lancashire-14 (2022/23). 

• • Blackpool's ambulance incidence rate for psychiatric/suicide issues (5.5 per 1,000 persons) is over twice the Lancashire-14 rate (2.5) (2022/23)

  • Incidents showed a decrease in Blackpool from a high of 9.4 in 2016/17 to 3.7 in 2020/21, although this is starting to rise again (figure 5)

Figure 5: Trend in ambulance incidence rates for psychiatric/suicide issues, Blackpool and Lancashire-14, 2012/13 to 2022/23 

Risk factors

Suicide is a complex event, with rarely one significant contributing factor, and sometimes occurs for reasons that are not clear. Certain factors are known to be associated with increased risk. The national strategy³ identifies the following higher risk groups:

• • children and young people
  • middle-aged men
  • people who have self-harmed
  • people in contact with mental health services
  • people in contact with the justice system
  • autistic people
  • pregnant women and new mothers

Common risk factors linked to suicide are:

• • physical illness
  • financial difficulty and economic adversity
  • gambling
  • alcohol and drug misuse
  • social isolation and loneliness
  • domestic abuse

Analysis by Office for National Statistics⁴ found that men are at least three times as vulnerable to death from suicide as women. This greater risk is suggested to be due to a complex set of reasons, including increased family breakdown leaving more men living alone; the decline of many traditionally male-dominated industries; and social expectations about masculinity.

Relationship breakdown can also contribute to suicide risk. The greatest risk is among divorced men, who in 2015 were almost three times more likely to end their lives than men who were married or in a civil partnership.

People who live in more deprived areas - where there is less access to things like services, work and education - are also more at risk of suicide; people among the most deprived 10% of society are more than twice as likely to die from suicide than the least deprived 10% of society.

A report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists stated that self‑harm is one of strongest predictors of suicide, including among older people and suicide occurs more frequently with the coexistence of psychiatric and physical illness.⁵

While rates of suicide are highest in middle age, and particularly in men, there have been concerning increases among children and young people over recent years. A report by the Office for National Statistics has identified groups of young people in England with a higher risk of dying by suicide⁶:

• • Suicide rates were higher for males than females
  • Suicide rates were highest in households where an adult held a degree-level qualification
  • Children and young people in Muslim and Christian households had lower suicide rates
  • Males with special educational needs saw a higher risk of suicide than those without 

National and local strategies

Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy (September 2023) aims to bring everybody together around common priorities and set out actions that can be taken to:

• • reduce the suicide rate over the next 5 years – with initial reductions observed within half this time or sooner
  • improve support for people who have self-harmed
  • improve support for people bereaved by suicide

PHE, Public Health matters - keeping our focus on suicide prevention (Jan 2017) is a resource to support local areas in their work to save lives.

PHE, Local suicide prevention planning: A practice resource (September 2020) is a resource to support local authority public health teams to work with sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) and integrated care systems (ICSs), health and wellbeing boards, the voluntary sector and wider networks of partners to implement local suicide prevention plans and embed work within local sustainability and transformation plans.

PHE, Preventing suicides in public places, (November 2015) a practice resource is for those with responsibility for suicide prevention in local authorities and their partner agencies.

Blackpool's Blackpool Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2029 aligns with the national suicide prevention strategy and has identified four strategic priorities. An action plan is in development.

The Blackpool Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2029 (SUMMARY) provides the key points from the full strategy.

Recommendations

The Blackpool Suicide Prevention Strategy has four main priorities:

1. Improve mental health awareness and reduce stigma:

• • This means helping everyone understand mental health better and reducing the feeling of shame (stigma) around mental health problems and asking for help.
  • Involving people who have lived experience of mental health problems in planning and delivering anti-stigma programs is vital for them to work well.

2. Work together across all groups and communities in Blackpool:

• • This involves working closely with health services, local charities, and people with lived experience to make sure mental health support is caring and meets the needs of Blackpool residents.
  • Nationally, many people with mental health needs are not in contact with NHS mental health services. The plan aims to improve access to services so people get the right care at the right time.

3. Support anyone affected by suicide:

• • This priority is about providing compassionate and tailored support to families and friends who are grieving after a suicide.
  • Support should be timely, consistent, and compassionate.

4. Build suicide safer communities:

• • This means finding and helping high-risk groups and places in Blackpool.
  • It also involves reducing ways people can harm themselves, for example, by making changes at high-risk locations.
  • It also means being careful about how suicide is reported in the media, to prevent others from being influenced (known as 'suicide contagion').

[1] ONS, Suicides in England and Wales: 1981-2024, October 2025

[2] Safer Lancashire Multi-Agencey Data Exchange (MADE)

[3] DHSC, Policy paper, Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy, September 2023

[4] ONS, Who is most at risk of suicide? Analysis and explanation of the contributory risks of suicide. September 2017

[5] Self-harm and suicide in adults: Final report of the Patient Safety Group, Royal College of Psychiatrists, July 2020

[6] ONS, Risk factors for suicide in children and young people in England, February 2025