Mental Health CPG

22^nd November 2023

12.30 - 13.30, via Teams

In attendance:

1	Ken Skates	Chair and MS for Clwyd South
2	Simon Jones	Mind Cymru
3	Nia Sinclair	Mind Cymru (Secretariat)
4	Jemma Wray	Mental Health Foundation
5	Richard Jones	Mental Health Matters
6	Peter Martin	Adferiad
7	Chloe Harrison	Adferiad
8	Eleri Williams	Building Communities Trust
9	Angie Oliver	Health Education and Improvement Wales HEIW
10	Prof. Ian Jones	National Centre for Mental Health
11	Rachel Bowen	Office of Older People's Commissioner
12	Annabelle Llanes-Sierra	CIPD
13	Lesley Richards	CIPD
14	Lisa Roberts	RCPCH
15	Lowri Wyn Jones	Time to change Wales
16	Linsey Imms	Wales TUC
17	Nesta Lloyd-Jones	Welsh NHS Confederation
18	Steve Mulligan	BACP
19	Abigail Rees	Barnardos
20	Naila Noori	Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
21	Meg Moss	The National Counselling Society
22	Freya Reynolds-Feeney	Children's Commissioner for Wales
23	Lloyd Watkins	Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
24	Kathryn Morgan	Shared Lives Plus
25	Linda Newton	Cardiff and the Vale Action for Mental Health
26	Carolyn Thomas	Labour MS for North Wales
27	Charlotte Knight	Office of Jayne Bryant MS

1. Welcome and introduction

Simon Jones (SJ) welcomed everyone to the meeting. The first order of business was to elect a chair for the group as part of the AGM  

Ken Skates MS (KS) was nominated and appointed as Chair

Mind Cymru was nominated and appointed as secretariat

KS thanked everyone for attending and welcomed Chloe Harrison (CH) from Adferiad who would be presenting at today’s meeting.

He referred to the cost-of-living crisis as being a major concern, with many people struggling to see a way through the crisis safely and in good health.

He introduced Adferiad as a member-led charity that provides support and help for people with mental health, addiction and co-occurring and complex needs.

He noted the charity’s latest campaign ‘Time to Take Control’ which calls on the UK and Welsh Government to take action to support people to take control of their own situation and to navigate their path through the crisis and beyond.

He invited CH to deliver a presentation on the key findings from the campaign.

2. Adferiad presentation on ‘Time to Take Control’ campaign

CH introduced Adferiad as a Wales-wide member-led organisation which specifically provides support for people with mental health, addiction and co-occurring and complex need.

She referred to the Time to Take Control campaign (launched in summer 2023) as an initiative which responds to people’s concerns about getting through the current financial climate. The campaign has travelled across Wales, highlighting Adferiad’s Money Advice Service and encouraging people to take control of their options.

She shared some key trends from the campaign survey results (sample of 110 respondents) including;

- 80% reporting that their bills had increased a lot over the past 18 months

- 67% reporting that their mental health has gotten worse

- Only 28% reporting that they have accessed support.

CH noted the six main themes to emerge from the qualitative responses to the survey, which helped to form the organisation’s ten-point plan calling on the UK and Welsh Government to do more to support beneficiaries through the crisis. The two specific asks in Wales are:

- Developing more effective care and treatment plans

- Providing easier access to advice and advocacy relating to money management and debt.

She noted that people generally feel the Welsh Government is responding more positively to the crisis than the UK Government.

She thanked the group for their time.

3. Discussion

KS thanked CH for her presentation, noting the hard-hitting truth of some of the responses in terms of the frustration of having two separate governments looking to provide support but it being felt neither were doing enough. He acknowledged the general feeling of there being a disconnect between the people and the UK Government and welcomed the differing views in Wales of the Welsh Government being seen to have a clearer and more targeted approach to tackling the problems that people are facing.

Stephen Mulligan

Stephen Mulligan (SM) from the British Association of Counselling Professions (BACP) emphasised how the current pressures are affecting clients who are cutting back on therapy sessions due to cost, which is leading to increased NHS referrals and greater pressure on third sector services.

Jemma Wray

Jemma Wray (JW) referred to the research undertaken by the Mental Health Foundation with 5,000 adults UK-wide, noting that the figures in Wales are higher in terms of levels of concern, but very much reflects the findings from the work Chloe presented.

Ken Skates

KS questioned whether denial to the crisis on a UK level could be exacerbating people’s levels of anxiety. He noted there could be more work to do in terms of compassion of understanding and recognition that people are not alone.

Lloyd Watkins

Lloyd Watkins (LlW) queried the enactment of the socio-economic duty by Welsh Government and asked what work is currently being done in that area to develop budgets with this duty in mind.

KS noted that local government is currently struggling to meet demands and deliver core functions and that looking to support individuals and families with economic impact from the UK government could be incredibly challenging.

Linda Newton

Linda Newton (LN) opened a discussion about third sector funding noting that many more people are now coming through needing support locally, resulting in huge competition for charitable funds and a desperate need for the third sector to secure money.

In terms of community services, KS asked whether there is a cohort of people taking part in physical activity to help with their mental health. Steve Williams (SW) from Sport Wales referred to the organisation’s activity tracker which consulted with over 1,000 people across Wales. He noted that the results indicate that a large majority of people are engaging in sport activity but that the word is often stigmatised, with people preferring the term physical activity which encompasses all activity from getting outside and walking. He emphasised cost as being an issue to providing these services.

Lowri Wyn Jones

Lowri Wyn Jones (LWJ) highlighted stigma as being a barrier to people engaging in physical activity through fear of shame and acceptance. She noted the work of the Time to Change Wales campaign and encouraged further thought and consideration to raising awareness and tackling stigma, particularly in view of the association between poverty and ill mental health.

ACTION: CH and LWJ to discuss further

Kathryn Morgan

Kathryn Morgan (KM) from Shared Lives Plus suggested speaking to people who have recently been discharged from mental health wards and hospitals about the factors which led to their hospitalisation. She supported Adferiad’s campaign to develop and improve care and treatment plans following discharge. She highlighted her organisation as providing crucial support for people returning to family life after a period in hospital and emphasised the importance of the future sustainability of these services.

Richard Jones

Richard Jones (RJ) noted the advocacy services provided by Mental Health Matters, and the difficulty the organisation is facing (and others) in having to top up costs for the services via their own reserves. He stressed the importance of the third sector in holding the system together and the risk of some organisations having to close due to a lack of funding.

Simon Jones

To conclude, SJ suggested exploring the point around the socio-economic duty in more detail, considering how and what it means for mental health and whether there is an opportunity to build around that duty.

KS suggested drafting a letter to the Finance Minister to ask whether this is something that could be discussed and debated by Members of the Senedd in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.

ACTION: SJ to draft letter

Members were invited to send any suggestions for future meetings to SJ.

The meeting closed at 13.30pm. Next meeting 31 January 2024.