Samaritans is looking to close branches across the UK and Ireland.

The mental health charity’s chief executive Julie Bentley said that its 200 branch structure “is not sustainable and hinders us providing the best possible service to people who need us”.

Each branch varies in size, she points out, with between 10 and 300 volunteers working at each one. According to the charities register the charity has 331 staff members and manages 23,000 volunteers.

Bentley added: “Samaritans provides a life-saving service, day and night, 365 days a year but the changing needs of our callers and volunteers means thinking differently about the way our services need to work.

“We are engaging with our volunteers on proposed improvements that will mean we are able to answer more calls, have more volunteers on duty, and be there for more people in their darkest moments.”

Bentley’s comments follow reports in the media that it plans to close half of its branches.

But a spokesperson for the charity said: “There isn’t a definitive view at this stage of the number of branches, or which branches, that could be closed, and which could be scaled up”.

Samaritans’ spending has outstripped its income in the last three years, its financial records submitted to the Charity Commission show.

In the financial year ending March 2024 the charity’s income was £24.6m and it spent £25.9m.

Over the last three years it has lost a substantial amount of income from the government. Between 2022 and 2024 its income from government contracts fell from £1.07m to £257,830.

Over the same period its income from government grants fell from £1.82m to £1.60m.

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