Mental Health Challenge

The Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Foundation, Mind, NHS Confederation Mental Health Network, Rethink Mental Illness, Royal College of Psychiatrists and YoungMinds have come together to create a local authority mental health challenge.

This has come about because we want to showcase good examples of where local authorities are willing to prioritise mental health and spread the word to others about what steps they can take. It is driven by a desire for local government to play its part on delivering the Mental Health Strategy.

We are looking for some Lib Dem Councillors to sign up (ideally they would be cabinet members). They don’t need to be experts in mental health. They just need to show a willingness to promote the importance of mental health in their local council with support from all the organisations above.
Please email Chris Leaman if you’re interested in becoming a champion chris.leaman@youngminds.org.uk

Local authorities’ mental health challenge – template motion for councilsThis council notes:

• 1 in 6 people will experience a mental health problem in any given year.
• The World Health Organisation predicts that depression will be the second most common health condition worldwide by 2020
• Mental ill health costs some £105 billion each year in England alone.
• People with a severe mental illness die up to 20 years younger than their peers in the UK.
• There is often a circular relationship between mental health and issues such as housing, employment, family problems or debt.

This council believes:

• As a local authority we have a crucial role to play in improving the mental health of everyone in our community and tackling some of the widest and most entrenched inequalities in health.
• Mental health should be a priority across all the local authority’s functions, from public health, adult social care and children’s services to housing, planning and public realm.
• All councillors, whether members of the Executive or Scrutiny and in our community and casework roles, can play a positive role in championing mental health on an individual and strategic basis.

This council resolves:
To sign the Local Authorities’ Mental Health Challenge run by Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, Royal College of Psychiatrists and YoungMinds.

We commit to:

1. Appoint an elected member as ‘mental health champion’ across the council
2. Identify a ‘lead officer’ for mental health to link in with colleagues across the council
3. Follow the implementation framework for the mental health strategy where it is relevant to the council’s work and local needs
4. Work to reduce inequalities in mental health in our community
5. Work with the NHS to integrate health and social care support
6. Promote wellbeing and initiate and support action on public mental health
7. Tackle discrimination on the grounds of mental health in our community
8. Encourage positive mental health in our schools, colleges and workplaces
9. Proactively engage and listen to people of all ages and backgrounds about what they need for better mental health
10. Sign up to the Time to Change pledge.