You asked
Could you please forward me some suicide data over the past 6 years, breaking it down year by year, age range, and suicide type?
We said
Thank you for your enquiry
Suicides in the UK 2013-2019
Our Suicides in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) publications provide Registered deaths in the UK from suicide analysed by sex, age, area of usual residence of the deceased and suicide method. Data is available from 2011-2019.
Suicides in England and Wales 2020/2021
Please see the following previously published FOI response, which provides the answer to your FOI request
Suicides in 2020 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
Our next Suicide in the UK publication is scheduled for release in September 2021, which will include 2020 data.
As such, the information you have requested is considered exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future. Furthermore, as a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.