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The Samaritans’ helpline will remain free for the next four years with support from the government, Theresa May announced today as she marked World Mental Health Day.

New government funding – up to £1.8 million – will help ensure the charity can continue to provide immediate and lifesaving support to everyone who needs it, 24 hours a day.

The Prime Minister also announced today that health minister Jackie Doyle-Price will become the UK’s first Minister for Suicide Prevention.

Around 4,500 people take their own lives each year in England and suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 45. In her new role, the minister will lead government efforts to cut the number of suicides and overcome the stigma that stops people seeking help.

The Minister will lead a new national effort on suicide prevention, bringing together a ministerial taskforce and working with national and local government, experts in suicide and self-harm prevention, charities, clinicians and those personally affected by suicide.

She will also ensure every local area has an effective suicide prevention plan in place, and look at how the latest technology can be used to identify those most at risk.

Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14. The Prime Minister has made a series of further announcements today on children and young people’s mental health:

• Recruitment has now begun for new mental health support teams who will work with schools to ensure young people with mental health issues get the help they need – trainees will begin studying in January and join schools across England next year
• Starting in 2019, the government will publish a ‘State of the Nation’ report every year on World Mental Health Day, highlighting the trends and issues in young people’s mental well-being – the first time children’s mental health will be reported in this way, alongside their physical health and academic attainment
• The government will provide tools to help schools measure their students’ health, including their mental wellbeing – building on the commitment to make education in mental health and resilience a compulsory part of the curriculum

Speaking at a Downing Street reception to mark World Mental Health Day this afternoon, Theresa May is expected to say:

When I first became Prime Minister, I stood on the steps of Downing Street and pledged to fight the burning injustices in our society.

There are few greater examples than the injustices facing those with mental health conditions. But together we can change that.

We can end the stigma that has forced too many to suffer in silence. We can prevent the tragedy of suicide taking too many lives. And we can give the mental wellbeing of our children the priority it so profoundly deserves.

…I have made parity of care a priority for our long-term plan for the NHS. As a result, our record investment in the NHS will mean record investment in mental health.

…We are not looking after our health if we are not looking after our mental health.

So we need true parity between physical and mental health – and not just in our health systems – but in our classrooms, workplaces and communities too.

The Prime Minister will also announce that the government’s new campaign to train a million people in mental health awareness – Every Mind Matters – launches today with a pilot in the West Midlands ahead of a national rollout next Spring.

This week the Health Secretary Matt Hancock is hosting the first ever Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit in London, attended by ministers and representatives from over 50 countries as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

In a landmark agreement, countries at the summit are expected to support a global declaration today to achieve equity for mental health – the first time national governments have come together on this scale to pledge to put mental health on an equal footing with physical health.

Responding to Jackie Doyle-Price’s appointment as ministerial lead for suicide prevention, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:

We’re already making progress when it comes to suicide prevention – the suicide rate is at its lowest for seven years.

But we need to do more to challenge the stigma that people with mental ill-health face and make sure they feel they can reach out for help.

I am delighted we are appointing Jackie Doyle-Price as our dedicated Minister for Suicide Prevention, and I know she will make a real difference.

Every suicide is a preventable death and we are determined to do everything we can to tackle the tragedy of suicide.

Jackie Doyle-Price, Minister for Mental Health, Inequalities and – now – Suicide Prevention, said:

I understand how tragic, devastating and long-lasting the effect of suicide can be on families and communities.

In my time as health minister I have met many people who have been bereaved by suicide and their stories of pain and loss will stay with me for a long time.

It’s these people who need to be at the heart of what we do and I welcome this opportunity to work closely with them, as well as experts, to oversee a cross-government suicide prevention plan, making their sure their views are always heard.

Responding to the new government funding announced today, Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland said:

We welcome the government’s announcement of funding towards Samaritans’ helpline, which will meet around 10 per cent of the total helpline costs for the next four years and help us to continue to provide our service free of charge.

Samaritans’ 20,000 volunteers are available at any time for anyone who is struggling to cope. We respond to more than five million requests for help a year.

This is an acknowledgement of the importance of our vital service.

Following the call, a Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesperson said:

The Foreign Secretary has today spoken to his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, about the case of Jamal Khashoggi.

Mr Hunt stressed that if media reports from the weekend regarding Mr Khashoggi’s case prove correct, that would be extremely concerning and the UK will treat the incident very seriously – friendships depend on shared values.

Mr Hunt urged the Saudi Government to cooperate fully with the Turkish investigation into the case, and to provide further information as soon as possible.

The Foreign Secretary today also met the Saudi Ambassador to the UK to reiterate the need for urgent answers.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @Jeremy_Hunt and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

The narrow-headed ant is England’s rarest ant, with the only English population remaining on a small nature reserve run by the Devon Wildlife Trust and the A38 trunk road verge near Chudleigh Knighton.

Highly territorial, this rare woodland creature might be tiny at 10-12mm long but has big importance to the entire ecosystem with the seeds of many plants dependent upon them in areas of newly regenerating forest.

The nests, which can contain several queens and up to 1,000 worker ants, are nestled on a lush A38 verge and adjoining land. We’ve joined forces with Devon Wildlife Trust and charity Buglife to try and secure a future for these miniature heroes in the UK’s ecosystem.

Highways England ecologist Leo Gubert said:

People might think it strange that a road authority would get involved in the survival of a rare ant but they are so endangered every nest counts.

We carry out regular surveys at the nest sites and have an ongoing habitat management plan including scrub and grass clearance as these ants are very particular about where they live.

As more areas of wildlife habitat are lost a wide variety of insects, plant and mammals are finding a safe haven on our roadside verges and by ensuring our network is as wildlife friendly as possible and by enhancing habitats alongside our roads, we might, ultimately, be able to contribute to the halt of biodiversity loss in the UK.

In the South West, we’re working with partners including Devon Wildlife Trust, Buglife and Natural England on the ‘Back from the Brink Project’ . The aim is to conserve and enhance the overall status of narrow-headed ants as part of an overarching project to save 20 species from extinction and benefit over 200 more throughout England.

Andrew Bakere, Devon Wildlife Trust’s nature reserve officer for Chudleigh Knighton, said:

We’re proud that the narrow headed ant’s last refuge in England is on the nature reserve we manage at Chudleigh Knighton Heath. The presence on the roadside verge of one of Devon’s busiest roads is a reminder just how precarious the state of much of our wildlife is. We hope that in the future it will spread to find a secure home elsewhere.

We’re committed to a national Biodiversity Plan which is being supported by a £30 million national investment programme over the next five years. The plan recognises road verges and associated land can be managed to provide areas of habitat, relatively free from human access, that may be scarce in the surrounding landscape.

These road verges can also be used to connect fragmented habitats in the wider landscape, enabling plant and animal populations to move and interact, and so become stronger and more resilient.

Narrow-headed ant facts

• You can identify the Narrow-headed ant by the deep notch at the back of its head.
• The narrow-headed ant lives at woodland edges, heathlands and open areas within forests, and is associated with areas of forest regeneration.
• High territorial narrow-headed ants stalk other invertebrates, and will cooperate to take prey larger than themselves.
• When attacking prey or if threatened, they have a secret weapon – acid! A gland in their abdomen produces formic acid, which they can fire up to 10cm, with great accuracy.
• They have also been known to jump on the backs of other species of ants and rip their heads off.
• This ant once lived throughout the UK, including the New Forest, Dorset, the Isle of Wight and Cornwall.

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