Suicides of British Soldiers since January 1st 2000
Dear Ministry of Defence,
Please advise how many UK soldiers have committed suicide since January 2000 and please also advise how much funding MOD contribute since then to PTSD support for soldiers.
Please also advise how much compensation MOD have paid to British Nuclear Test Veterans since Britain became a nuclear super-power.
Yours faithfully,
Antony Owen
Dear Mr Owen,
Thank you for your email of 13 September requesting information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) requires further information in order to
determine whether it holds any information within the scope of your
request.
The attached letter provides further advice.
MOD People Secretariat FOI
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Suicide after leaving the UK Armed Forces 1996-2018: a cohort study
'Methods and findings We conducted a retrospective cohort study of suicide in personnel who left the regular UKAF between 1996 and 2018 by linking national databases of discharged personnel and suicide deaths. Of the 458,058 individuals who left the UKAF, 1,086 (0.2%) died by suicide. The overall rate of suicide in veterans was not greater than the general population (SMR [95% CI] 94 [88-99]). However, suicide risk was two to four times higher in male and female veterans aged under 25 years than in the same age groups in the general population (age-specific mortality ratios ranging from 160 to 409). Male veterans aged 35 years and older were at reduced risk of suicide (age-specific mortality ratios 47 to 80)...'
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/...
J Roberts left an annotation ()
Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in England and Wales: 2011 to 2021
A population level analysis comparing the risk of dying by suicide across sociodemographic groups in adults in England and Wales.
7/3/23
'Armed forces membership
At the time of the 2011 Census, if someone was a serving member of the armed forces, their rate of suicide was estimated to be lower than the rate for people who were not members (for both men and women) (Figure 6). The rate was lower for women who were dependants of a serving member of the British or Overseas armed forces (2.97 per 100,000 people, 95% CI: 1.76 to 5.03) compared with those who were not members or dependants of a member (6.46 per 100,000 people, 95% CI: 6.22 to 6.71). Conversely, for men the opposite was found, with dependants of serving members of the armed forces having the highest rate compared with those who were current members or not members.'
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationa...
J Roberts left an annotation ()
Suicides in the UK regular armed forces: Annual summary and trends over time 1 January 1984 to 31 December 2023
Published 4 April 2024
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...
Military deaths in service statistics: background quality reports
Background quality report relating to statistics on deaths, including suicide and open verdicts in the UK regular armed forces.
Published 5 March 2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics...
UK armed forces Deaths: Operational deaths post World War II 3 September 1945 to 29 February 2024
Published 4 April 2024
Table 1: UK armed forces deaths as a result of operations post World War II by medal earning theatre and cause, numbers 3 September 1945 to 29 February 2024
eg Afghanistan (OSM) 11 Sep 2001 to 28 Aug 2021
Total deaths - 457
of which Hostile action - 405
of which Other causes - 52
Iraq (Op TELIC) 20 Jan 2003 to 22 May 2011
Total deaths - 178
of which Hostile action - 135
of which Other causes - 43
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics...
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J Roberts left an annotation ()
UIN 88012
Maria Caulfield answered a question from Fleur Anderson on 21/11/22:
'Additionally, NHS England and the Ministry of Defence have commissioned a review of research by Manchester University on suicide prevention, which will inform further options to prevent suicide among veterans. The study will investigate age-specific rates of suicide in veterans; identify risk factors and characteristics among veterans; and describe trends in suicide rates in veterans. The final report will be submitted in March 2023.'
https://questions-statements.parliament....
Strategy for our Veterans 6 monthly report
August 2022
'We will undertake a study into veteran suicide from September this year. It will look at the number of veteran suicides between 2011 and 2021 and compare the figure with the non-veteran population.'
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...