Andy Burnham has backed mandatory suicide prevention training for social workers after the “devastating” death of Matilda Davis, a parent-carer who killed herself minutes after meeting professionals.
The Guardian revealed in August how the “absolutely inspirational” 36-year-old had taken her life after feeling “completely exhausted” and failed by England’s social care system.
Davis, a former art teacher, had told multiple professionals she was struggling to cope with the significant care for her seven-year-old son and “paralysed with anxiety” about her looming divorce from her estranged husband.
She died on 3 October last year, minutes after an emotional meeting with social workers who had not received suicide prevention training.
Burnham was asked about Davis’s case at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday and said he supported the extension of this training to all local authorities in England.
Manuela Perteghella, the Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, highlighted University of Birmingham research showing that 41% of parent-carers have contemplated suicide, and asked Burnham to meet her and Matilda’s family to discuss “mandatory suicide prevention training for local authorities and other measures so that no more normal families suffer such a devastating loss”.
Source: The Guardian, 21 October 2026
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