Andy Burnham has backed a proposal to make suicide-prevention training mandatory across all local authorities in England, following the death of Matilda Davis, a parent-carer and former art teacher.
Davis, who was 36, cared for her seven-year-old son. She had told multiple professionals that she was struggling to cope with the level of care he needed and had described herself as “paralysed with anxiety” about her impending divorce.
She died by suicide on 3 October last year, shortly after an emotional meeting with social workers who had not received suicide-prevention training. Manuela Perteghella, the Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, said Davis took her own life 15 minutes after the social workers left her home.
Questions raised at the inquest
At Davis’s inquest in March, social workers acknowledged that they had not asked whether she was having suicidal thoughts, despite knowing she was experiencing significant distress. They also said she had not been directed to crisis organisations.
Coroner Deborah Sewell subsequently issued a prevention of future deaths notice. It ordered Warwickshire council to make suicide-prevention training mandatory for 600 staff members, primarily social workers.
Perteghella said Davis had received almost no support despite providing round-the-clock care for her disabled child. Davis’s brother, Joel Harley-Davis, said the family believed she had felt “failed and let down” by England’s social care system and needed professional support, respite and empathy.
Proposal has not yet been implemented
Burnham said he would arrange for a minister to meet Perteghella to discuss mandatory training and other measures. His backing applies to extending the requirement to all local authorities in England; the fact sheet does not indicate that such an extension has been implemented.
Harley-Davis said the family was “really reassured” by Burnham’s response. He said training should be mandatory because leaving the decision to individual councils could create a “postcode lottery”. He also said the family believed training would have been enough to save Davis’s life. That is the family’s view, rather than an established finding about what would have happened.
Why direct questions matter
Guidance from Mind states that it is best practice not to “skirt around the topic of suicide” when speaking with someone who may be at risk. It recommends asking direct questions, including: “Are you having suicidal thoughts?”
The wider pressure on parent-carers is also reflected in research cited by Perteghella from the University of Birmingham, which states that 41% of parent-carers have contemplated suicide. The figure highlights the seriousness of the issue, but it does not by itself show that every parent-carer faces the same level of risk or explain the circumstances behind each experience.
For families and professionals, the debate is therefore about more than a training requirement. It also concerns whether carers in distress are asked directly about suicide, connected with appropriate crisis support and offered practical help, including respite and empathy.
AI tools were used to assist with the preparation of this article under our editorial standards.
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