Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please acknowledge this request.

You published “Review of suicides and gender dysphoria at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust: independent report” on 19 July 2024.

In the report Professor Appleby wrote, “In this period of 6 years the data show a total of 12 suicides: 6 in the under 18s, 6 in those 18 and above. In the 3 years leading up to 2020-21, there were 5 suicides, compared to 7 in the 3 years after. This is essentially no difference, taking account of expected fluctuations in small numbers, and would not reach statistical significance. In the under 18s specifically, there were 3 suicides before and 3 after 2020-21.”

And he wrote, “the figures are for ‘NHS years’, April to March, so the timing of the High Court judgment does not fall neatly between years.”

In relation to his summary, please let me know:
1. Out of the 12 total suicides, how many occurred before April 2020?
2. Out of the 12 total suicides, how many occurred on or after April 2020?
3. Out of the 6 suicides involving individuals under 18, how many occurred before April 2020?
4. Out of the 6 suicides involving individuals under 18, how many occurred on or after April 2020?
5. Is the numeric answer to (3) greater than the answer to (4)?

You are reminded that, according to ICO guidance and case laws, there is an overriding public interest in verifying or refuting misleading statistical claims. You must consider the public interest in relation to each question individually, in particular question (5). I would be grateful if you could disprove my plausible suspicion as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

E A Lee

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Review of suicides and gender dysphoria at the Tavistock: disambiguating dates and figures'.

1. Please review the scope of your search.
2. Please review and confirm whether you are aware that Louis Appleby holds the requested information.
3. Please review and confirm whether the relevant information received by you or Louis Appleby from NHS England is considered to be held by you and therefore subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

E A Lee