National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group: annual report 2024-2025

5. NSPAG’s activity in 2024-25

The group meets at least quarterly, with secretariat support provided by Scottish Government. Minutes of our meetings are published on the Scottish Government's website.

The Suicide Prevention National Delivery Lead attends our meetings as does the Chair of the Academic Advisory Group. We have been joined by the four Strategic Outcome Leads from Suicide Prevention Scotland at one of our meetings. The chair meets with the National Delivery Lead regularly.

Following discussion and publication of the last annual report, the group has embarked on a series of themed meetings which highlight areas felt to be of particular importance in terms of suicide prevention, through ‘deep dives’. These have included Inequalities, Severe and Multiple Disadvantage, Child Poverty and Mental Health; and Children and Young Peoples’ Mental Health (including those who are care experienced). More information on the deep dives is set out below. We intend, during the coming year, to meet again with the Youth Advisory Group and the Lived and Living Experience Panel as we have several new members who may benefit from hearing their views on the strategy, and action and delivery plans and that may help us to suggest further areas of focus. This approach of taking Deep Dives into areas of work has been helpful in terms of increasing our knowledge of areas with which we are less familiar but has also allowed us to make connections using our own professional backgrounds and experiences.

Our continued interaction with the Academic Advisory Group via their Chair ensures that we are informed by up-to-date evidence.

Our discussions have included:

• Progress on the NSPAG recommendations from our last report
• Suicide Prevention Scotland’s second annual report
• An update from the Academic Advisory Group on International Trends and the ‘Gone Too Soon’ project. This update highlighted the disproportionate impact of suicide on men globally and the potential need to recognise being male as a social determinant for suicide to highlight their higher risk of suicide. It also highlighted how people with a history of mental illness die prematurely compared to those without mental illness.

Deep dives over the last year have included:

• A focus on inequalities and what measurable action might look like. This was supported by a paper prepared by Scottish Government policy officials. A move from engagement to measurable action was one of the recommendations from the NSPAG report in 2023/24. We know that some groups of Scotland’s population are at higher risk of suicide. Specifically, there are risk factors which mean some people are more likely to attempt, and to complete suicide. We also know that some people protected under the Equality Act are also at higher risk of suicide. This can be due to the stigma and discrimination they experience, which can also impact likelihood to seek help. Additionally, people impacted by stigma and discrimination are often more affected by the social determinants of suicide, due to systemic marginalisation and structural inequalities. Work has been ongoing through the ’whole of government and society’ work led by Samaritans, in partnership with Scottish Government and COSLA, to ensure that suicide prevention is considered in local and national policy and service delivery and that the social determinants of suicide (such as poverty, homelessness, substance use and care experience) are addressed. Some of this links to our focus not just on inequalities but to Severe and Multiple Disadvantage (SMD) where several inequalities intersect. Measurable action on the part of Suicide Prevention Scotland has involved making connections and collaborating across policy areas, setting out specific actions in some areas and integrating suicide prevention activity into some areas.
• A focus on SMD during which we heard from both Simon Community Scotland and the Glasgow Alcohol and Drugs Partnership. The group was deeply impacted by the harrowing accounts shared by the Simon Community, which powerfully illustrated the urgent and complex challenges faced by the women they support. Their experiences of homelessness, substance use, intergenerational trauma, stigma and for many the loss of their children into the care system, highlighted the issue of siloed working and system failures which potentially could lead to feelings of entrapment and hopelessness and hence to suicidal ideation. This testimony and the ensuing discussion have resulted in the group suggesting SMD as a focus for suicide prevention going forward.
• A focus on Scottish Government and COSLA’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan where we heard from senior leaders at COSLA, and from the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Directorate.
• A focus on Suicide Prevention and Child Poverty where we heard from senior officials from COSLA and the Scottish Government informed by an overview of the evidence from the Academic Advisory Group.

A number of our members attended the second national suicide prevention conference, in Glasgow in May 2025. This year’s conference focused on key areas of inequality connected to suicide risk identified through the work of Suicide Prevention Scotland. This theme ties in perfectly with our own group’s focus on inequality at all levels. The conference featured a wide range of speakers and workshop topics, with prevention at the core and included participation from members of Suicide Prevention Scotland’s Lived and Living Experience Panel and Youth Advisory Group. The topics and themes covered in the conference, including comments from NSPAG members who attended, can be viewed on the Suicide Prevention Scotland conference page.

Members reflections on this year’s conference

Zahra Hedges, Winning Scotland

‘It was so affirming to be in room full of people who are actively working to ensure no-one in Scotland feels that suicide is the only option left… So many of the conversations I'm having these days are about prevention - the more we can get it right for more people earlier we will have less need for crisis intervention.’

Catherine McWilliam, Institute of Directors commented on the relevance of suicide prevention to the business community

“So where we are trying to support the conversation around suicide prevention is absolutely at that leadership level in all of Scotland's organisations. So, we think it's really important that leaders are aware of signs within their own teams and can start conversations across the organisation and create a culture where it's okay to talk about how you're feeling and talk about things that maybe aren't going so well.”

Brendan Rooney from Happy n Healthy Community Development Trust

“The conference helped me to reflect on the need for government, agencies, sectors and organisations to begin designing services for those furthest away and in our margins, rather than the prevailing ‘easy to reach’ norm.”