Creating Hope Together: Year 3 Delivery Plan - 2025-2026

Outcome 1

The environment we live in promotes conditions which protect against suicide risk. This includes our psychological, social, cultural, economic and physical environment.

Short term outcome: Key priority Scottish Government policies (based on Annex A in the Action Plan 2022- 25) increasingly incorporate and deliver actions designed to contribute to both suicide prevention and tackling the inequalities that affect suicidal behaviour.

Action

1.1 – Whole of Government and society approach

What we’ve done so far

We have gathered and reviewed evidence, data and information through the work of the Academic Advisory Group (AAG) and the report commissioned from The Lines Between.

We have carried out workshops with Scottish Government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) policy teams, the Public Health Scotland (PHS) Suicide Prevention Network, and with The Lines Between to identify priority areas for our Whole of Government and Whole of Society work.

We have focussed on the priority areas outlined in the ‘The Lines Between’ report and are scoping solutions.

Samaritans Scotland are working alongside Scottish Government’s Suicide Prevention Policy team to support and monitor delivery of the commitments in Annex A. This includes supporting wider Scottish Government policy collaboration.

We have shared learning from The Lines Between report and the work of the AAG with Strategic Outcome Leads (SOL’s) and Delivery Leads (DL’s) to help shape the work more broadly.

We have been building into the work how we can identify and address inequalities that contribute to suicide risk. For example, working closely with partners supporting people affected by substance use, we are collaborating with Simon Community Scotland and others to deliver focused work to support people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage, who may be at higher risk of death by suicide and/or overdose. This will help inform our wider approach to preventing suicide amongst people facing some of the sharpest inequalities.

The evidence we have gathered will be our foundation for scoping and developing interventions that reduce suicide risk directly while addressing the inequalities that contribute to suicide risk.

Actions and milestones 2025/26

Summer 2025

• We will meet with service providers, both from local authorities and third sector to discuss interventions targeting the areas outlined in the ‘The Lines Between Report’ to underpin our action.
• Capture evidence from these services and begin to develop case studies.
• Engage with Third Sector Interface’s (TSI’s), funders and evaluation support organisations to better understand how they measure impact of services.
• Organise further workshops with priority Scottish Government and COSLA policy teams to deepen engagement on cross-government suicide prevention.
• Identify policy teams in Annex A where engagement hasn’t been as deep and build a plan to get updates on actions and strengthen cross-government working.

Autumn 2025

• Work with identified evaluation support organisation to work with a small number of organisations. Develop evaluation support offer and demonstrate the impact interventions are having on suicide prevention across Scotland.
• Facilitate workshops with TSIs and funders, and those they support. These will help us better understand practice across Scotland and build further case studies of good practice.
• Facilitate further workshops with policy teams from Scottish Government and COSLA.

Winter 2025/26

• Publish case studies.
• Build learning from case studies and evaluation work into the plans for the next action plan.

Indicative budget to support delivery

£69, 000

Short term outcome: There is increased multi-agency and cross sectoral awareness and action nationally and locally to restrict access to methods of suicide.

Action

2.1 – Access to means – cross sector action plan to address locations of concern

What we’ve done so far

We have gathered evidence and carried out roundtables, drawing together learning and best practice from people across the country.

Drafted a report based on the findings from these and outlined priority areas for action.

This work will also contribute to the update to PHS Locations of Concern Guidance.

Actions and milestones 2025/26

Summer 2025

• Report from workshops including proposed actions published.
• Dissemination of report and engagement on recommendations.
• Updating stakeholders on progress on recommendations in partnership with Suicide Prevention Implementation Leads. (SPILs).

Autumn 2025

• Engagement with wider partners. Working with Community Planning Partnerships and Police Scotland to embed findings of workshops and report.
• Work to embed recommendations in practice and produce tangible changes in practice across Scotland.

Indicative budget to support delivery

£12,000

Action

2.2 – Access to means consider priority actions from Delphi study

What we've done so far

The Delphi study undertaken by AAG was published providing recommendations for the restriction of access to hanging and self-poisoning and how these could be implemented in Scotland.

The findings are evidence-based, peer-approved and timely recommendations which reflect the views of key stakeholders of the target population. This greatly improves the likelihood of successful implementation.

A webinar was held with key stakeholders including local suicide prevention leads to disseminate the findings.

Actions and milestones 2025/26

Summer/ autumn 2025

• Work with AAG to make the key recommendations of the Delphi study tangible.
• Engage with practitioners and policy makers to better understand the feasibility of the recommendations of the study, and identify areas for action.

Indicative budget to support delivery

Included in funding for AAG

Short term outcome: Traditional media (including their online content) increasingly recognise and implement best practice in reporting, discussing and portraying suicide

Action

3.1 – media reporting

What we’ve done so far

Samaritans Media Guidelines training sessions have been delivered to journalists and media professionals, including a session at BBC Scotland to Local Democracy Reporters. This has allowed us to train and speak to reporters from across Scotland, who are at the start of their careers, to embed suicide safe reporting in their practice early on.

A session was also delivered in partnership with local suicide prevention leads and hosted by Police Scotland to journalists from different outlets – print, online and TV – in Inverness.

Our Media Guidelines Training has also been delivered to people working locally on suicide prevention in three online sessions organised by the Suicide Prevention Implementation Leads and including Electrify.

As well as media professionals and those working on comms and with media locally, training has been delivered to groups of elected Councillors and Members of Scottish Parliament and staff across Parliament.

Actions and milestones 2025/26

Summer 2025

• Liaise with universities and colleges across Scotland to arrange training and guest lectures for students.
• Meet with local suicide prevention leads to talk about new comms guidance for speaking about suicide.

Autumn 2025

• Engage with universities and colleges network to establish opportunities for suicide prevention training to be embedded in curricula.

Winter 2025/26

• Deliver training to students at universities and colleges in Scotland as part of their course of study.

Indicative budget to support delivery

£35,000