National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group minutes: November 2025

Attendees and apologies

Members

• Prof Christine Goodall (Chair), University of Glasgow
• Dr Cath Aspden, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• Dr Rebecca Don-Kennedy, Equality Network
• Zahra Hedges, Winning Scotland
• Annika Joy, Simon Community Scotland
• Brendan Rooney, Chief Executive, Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust

Apologies

• Dr Alastair Cook, NHS Lanarkshire
• Det Supt Derek Cree, Police Scotland
• Louise Hunter, Chief Executive, Who Cares? Scotland
• Dr Douglas Hutchison, Executive Director of Education, Glasgow City Council
• Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance
• Catherine McWilliam, Nation Director for Scotland, Institute of Directors
• Prof Andrea Williamson, Professor of General Practice and Inclusion Health, University of Glasgow

In Attendance

• Prof Rory O’Connor, Chair of Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Academic Advisory Group (AAG)
• Julie Anderson, Scottish Government
• Nicola Dickie, COSLA

Agenda Item 1

• Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing 
• Cllr Paul Kelly*, COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson

Secretariat

• Hilary Third, Scottish Government
• Craig Wilson, Scottish Government 

(* Attended online)

Items and actions

Welcome

Christine Goodall (“the Chair”) welcomed everyone to the tenth meeting of the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group (NSPAG) (“the Group”). 

Apologies

Apologies were noted.

Agenda Item 1
Meet with Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing, and Cllr Paul Kelly, COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson

The Group welcomed Mr Arthur and Cllr Kelly to the meeting. Mr Arthur and Cllr Kelly expressed their gratitude to the members for their contributions within the group, as well as in their respective fields of expertise, to driving down suicide deaths in Scotland. It was noted that work at national and local level is having an impact on supporting people who are struggling.

Christine reflected on her first year as Chair, noting that a great deal of rich learning has taken place, and the refreshed membership of the group has brought new expertise and a broader perspective to the work around suicide prevention. She thanked members for their contributions to the group’s second annual report which would be published soon.

Christine invited Rory and Rebecca to present on two of the main themes from the group’s annual report.

Whole of Government/society approach to suicide prevention and social determinants of mental health.

Rory gave a presentation setting out a theory-informed view to Suicide Prevention based on his Integrated motivational-volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behaviour. He discussed actions required to address each phase of the model:

• Pre-motivational: Address inequality, improve primary care and community mental health.
• Motivational: Reduce feelings of defeat/entrapment, promote hope, anti-stigma work, crisis pathways.
• Volitional: Restrict access to means, ensure clinical safety and aftercare.

There was a discussion around how the IMV model impacts on the individual and how we could protect people from experiencing feelings of defeat, humiliation and entrapment. Mr Arthur indicated that he would like to have a follow up discussion  with Rory.

Inequalities of suicide/experience of marginalised communities.

Rebecca gave an overview on how individual and societal factors that Rory described could be exacerbated for marginalised communities in the way that they experience suicidal ideation, poor mental health and self-harm.  It was highlighted that:

• Being LGBTQ+ or a member of any marginalised group does not cause poor mental health by itself, but the experience of societal rejection, stigma and discrimination, and prejudice contributes significantly to higher rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide in these populations. 
• People who face marginalisation in multiple ways are often at greater risk of poor mental health and suicidal distress because the different forms of discrimination compound and reinforce each other.
• Marginalisation, stigma and discrimination also affects likelihood of seeking help, and access to appropriate mental health services, and consequently, people may be more likely to wait until crisis point to seek help or rely more heavily on informal support networks.

Rebecca highlighted that the following actions would help to address marginalisation:

• Public messaging that encourages people to reach out to others by starting conversations about poor mental health and suicide; challenges stigma, discrimination, and negative stereotypes; and promotes acceptance and belonging.
• Creating safe, inclusive spaces within communities where people feel seen and accepted.
• Ensuring better access to services including reduced waiting times; improved cultural competency; and meaningful recognition of lived experience. 
• Embedding intersectionality and marginalised voices in policy development, and recognising the impact of rhetoric and political decisions on marginalised communities.

During the discussion that followed, it was suggested that more could be done to improve rhetoric and be mindful of language. It was highlighted that work around wider community cohesion is happening in COSLA and Nicola would bring this to the group at a later date. The importance of ensuring that Government policies were accessible to people experiencing inequalities including discrimination was emphasised, as was the need to consider how wider policies and legislation could be assessed from a suicide prevention perspective. 

The Group thanked Mr Arthur and Cllr Kelly for attending the meeting.

Agenda Item 2
Terms of Reference

The Members reviewed the Group’s Terms of Reference (TOR). It was highlighted that the TORs were flexible and, with the new action plan soon to be published, this was an appropriate time to have a fresh think about the Group’s role and work. It was noted that we would need to be clear about the Group’s role to make the most of the expertise and influence that group members have in their respective sectors and communities. 

There was a discussion around the Group’s reporting process and whether a lengthy annual report was needed, or if shorter, thematic reports would be better. It was also suggested that it would be good for the Group to connect more regularly with the Delivery Leads, Strategic Outcome Leads, Youth Advisory Group and Lived and Living Experience Panel going forward to ensure that their work is fully connected with the wider delivery model. The group agreed to review its role and focus for the coming year at the next meeting, which would be in February 2026. 

Agenda Item 3
Suicide Prevention Action Plan (2026-29)

The policy team shared that work had been ongoing with developing the new Suicide Prevention Action Plan and thanked NSPAG members for their contributions to date, including to those who had attended the joint session on 1 September. Hilary noted that it had been developed with help from the Delivery Leads and Strategic Outcome Leads and reviewing evidence gathered from workshops, conferences and local work over the last year to identify key themes. The new action plan would be high level and not as detailed as the current action plan to allow more flexibility with the work. The draft – which takes account of NSPAG’s work throughout the year, and the draft recommendations which are set out in the group’s 2025 report currently being finalised for publication – would be shared with the Group and other stakeholders, and the Group would be asked to review it from their own area of expertise and send feedback to the policy team.

AOB

It was noted that the Group’s meetings in 2026 would take place on the following dates, with a meeting around May to be confirmed: 24 February, 25 August and 17 November.