Cross-Party Group Annual Report
2021 – 2022 (AGM September 2021)
Cross Party Group on Mental Health
1. Group membership and office holders
Ken Skates MS (Chair)
Jack Sargeant MS
Laura Anne Jones MS
Llyr Gruffydd MS
Jane Dodds MS
Secretariat:
Simon Jones (Head of Policy & Campaigns, Mind Cymru)
Nia Sinclair (EA to Director, Mind Cymru)
2. Previous group meetings
Meeting 1 – Key developments in Mental Health for future meetings
Date:(19 September 2021 – AGM)
Attendees: (Total 30)
|
Ken Skates MS |
Chair |
|
Simon Jones |
Mind Cymru (secretariat) |
|
Suzanne Duval |
Diverse Cymru |
|
Richard Jones |
Mental Health Matters |
|
Jack Martin |
Adferiad |
|
James Radcliffe |
Platfform |
|
Emma Gooding |
Samaritans |
|
Kate Heneghan |
Papyrus UK |
|
Liz Williams |
RCPsych |
|
Jo Whitfield |
BEAT Eating Disorders |
|
Linda Newton |
Cardiff and the Vale Action for Mental Health |
|
Sarah Thomas |
National Federation of Women's Institutes |
|
Valerie Billingham |
Office of Older People's Commissioner |
|
Lesley Richards |
CIPD |
|
Ben Jeffreys |
Time to change Wales |
|
Ben Cottam |
FSB |
|
Linsey Imms |
Wales TUC |
|
Madelaine Phillips |
Welsh NHS Confed |
|
Alfred Oyekoya |
BAME Mental Health Support |
|
Elinor Crouch Puzey |
NSPCC |
|
Amy Bainton |
Barnardos |
|
Mair Rigby |
WCVA |
|
Gerald Cole |
All Wales Service Users Forum |
|
Helen Howson |
Bevan Commission |
|
James Evans MS |
Brecon & Radnorshire |
|
Rhun ap Iowerth |
Ynys Mon |
|
David Goodban |
Office of Ken Skates MS |
|
Callum McSorely |
Office of Huw Irranca Davies MS |
|
Andrew Jenkins |
Office of Sioned Williams MS |
|
Charlotte Knight |
Office of Jayne Bryant MS |
Summary of issues discussed:
Simon Jones (Mind Cymru) gave a presentation on the main themes that had developed over the last 18 months and the key developments coming up for the group to consider as key discussions for future meetings.
Key comments:
- Important to consider how mental health and resilience could be central to a post pandemic economy. Opportunity to look at issue as part of refresh of the WG Economic Contract.
- Work needed to improve mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people (particularly distress and trauma). ECP referred to the work they would be undertaking on perinatal and infant mental health.
- Improvement needed to support mental health of children and young people with learning difficulties particularly from ethnic minority groups, as well as people arriving in Wales.
- Opportunity to invite Sport Wales to share how mental health is being tackled through physical activity (James Evans MS)
- Focus needed on bringing in attendees with lived experience and consulting with the national lived experience forum during CPG discussions.
Meeting 2 – Invitation for attendance with Deputy Minister for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Lynne Neagle MS)
Date: 2 February 2022
Attendees: (Total 46)
|
Summary of issues discussed:
By invitation, the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Lynne Neagle MS attended the meeting to share her reflections on her time in post and priorities for the rest of the Senedd.
She identified her main priorities as the following:
- Early intervention and building resilience among children and young people.
- Need for a cross-governmental approach given some root causes sit outside the health service
- Need to deliver improved outcomes for people on the ground – perintatal support, eating disorders, CAMHS and access to psychological therapies
- Consider the challenges around the workforce following the pandemic.
- Continued commitment around suicide prevention
- Delivery of the Welsh Government strategy
- Placing lived experience at centre of Welsh Government work.
In discussion, the following points were raised;
- Need to improve partnership working and engagement with the third sector
- Must take advantage of the world class mental health research that exists in Wales (including the National Advisory Group) on workplace mental health
- Need to consider a whole workforce approach (recognising that diversity of workplaces presents challenge to one approach),
- Must continue work on tackling stigma particularly in the workplace
- Must work to tackle social determinants of mental health (debt, employment, housing etc) to reduce impact of poor mental health.
The Deputy Minister agreed to return to a future meeting to provide an update on progress.
Meeting 3 – Mental Health in the Workplace
Date: 17 May 2022
Attendees: (Total 26)
|
Ken Skates MS |
Chair |
|
Simon Jones |
Mind Cymru (secretariat) |
|
June Jones |
Time to Change Wales |
|
Peter Williams |
Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum |
|
Madelaine Phillips |
Welsh NHS Confed |
|
Gwyneth Sweatman |
FSB Wales |
|
Lesley Richards |
CIPD Cymru |
|
Rachel Suff |
CIPD Cymru |
|
Linsey Imms |
Wales TUC |
|
Sarah Thomas |
Women’s Institute Cymru |
|
Cathy Bevan |
Office of Huw Irranca Davies MS |
|
David Lee |
Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum |
|
George Watkins |
Mind Cymru |
|
Harry Ridgewell |
Cystic Fibrosis Trust |
|
Jonathan Davies |
Law Society |
|
Glenn Page |
Mind Cymru |
|
Rachel Lewis |
Public Health Wales |
|
Sarah Hatherley |
Members Research Service |
|
Liz Williams |
RNIB Cymru |
|
Ffion Edge |
Adferiad |
|
James Radcliffe |
Platfform |
|
Heledd Roberts |
Office of Rhun ap Iowerth MS |
|
Daisy Noott |
Royal College of Psychiatrists |
|
Mary-Ann McKibben |
Public Health Wales |
|
Richard Jones |
Mental Health Matters Wales |
|
Emma Gooding |
Samaritans Cymru |
Summary of issues discussed:
This meeting focussed on discussions around mental health in the workplace. Ken Skates MS shared his view that the economic development of the nation should go hand in hand in promoting wellbeing.
Presentations were given by;
Gwyneth Sweatman (FSB – discussed findings of FSB’s UK-wide Business Without Barriers report
Rachel Suff (CIPD) – talked through findings from the CIPD’s annual Health and Wellbeing at Work report (a survey of HR professionals across the UK)
Linsey Imms (Wales TUC) – talked about main themes from Wales TUC’s mental health survey (1,200 responses)
In discussion, the following issues were raised:
- TTCW Employer pledge – vital first step to encourage organisations to think about their commitment to tackling stigma in the workplace
- Free mental health courses provided by Mental Health Matters Wales – organisations need to take advantage of these opportunities.
- Mindful that blind or partially blind people can be excluded from employment/development opportunities which can impact their mental health.
- Need to recognise mental health and neurodiversity and how to better support people with these needs.
- Need to consider how to track what’s going on for people through the inequality lens.
- Further support needed for carers who may have had to give up work during the pandemic.
3. Professional lobbyists, voluntary organisations and charities with whom the Group has met during the preceding year.
Organisations who have presented at the group:
Mind Cymru
Federation of Small Business
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Wales TUC
4. Financial declaration
All meetings were held online via Teams, so no payment was made for rooms or catering
All presenters provided their time for free, so no payment for speakers fees
This means that there were no financial transactions for the Cross Party Group during 2021/22