Oral Answers to Questions

Mary Glindon Excerpts

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Steve Brine]

The Government are already investing £16 billion in public health services over the spending review period. We made it a condition of the public health grant that local authorities have regard to the need to improve the take-up and outcomes of their drug and alcohol services. Local authorities are best placed to make those decisions. The investment in effective services means that the average waiting time is just three days and, according to our monitoring systems, treatment outcomes in Greater Manchester are generally better than or in line with the rest of England.

[Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

10. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on promoting improved education in schools and youth settings to tackle the stigma associated with mental health.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

Ahead of our autumn Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health, we are having productive discussions with the Department for Education on the vital role that schools can play in tackling both mental health problems and the stigma surrounding them.

[Mary Glindon]

The YMCA and NHS’s #IAMWHOLE campaign, which was launched this morning, shows that young people seeking help are often dismissed by those around them, largely due to a lack of understanding of mental health difficulties. Will the Secretary of State meet the YMCA to discuss what can be done to combat the stigma?

[Mr Hunt]

I am more than happy to meet the YMCA. I also want to point out the amazing work done by the “Time2Change” campaign. I was at an event to mark its 10th anniversary, and I heard from young people who have spoken up about their mental health conditions, which takes a lot of courage. Things are changing, and we can draw a lot of hope from what is happening on the ground.

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Brine]

I thank my hon. Friend for that. We expect the first launch to be the bilateral UK-China partnership £10 million fund, which we expect to go live early in 2018. Further information on the calls for the remaining £40 million will be announced in due course.

[Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

T10. In the light of the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics showing a record number of drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales, will the Minister meet members of the drugs, alcohol and justice parliamentary group to discuss this issue and see how it can be addressed?

[Steve Brine]

I am very happy to meet the group, and the hon. Lady should contact my office. The Home Office is the lead Department for cross-governmental drugs policy, and we obviously released the new cross-Government drugs strategy earlier this year. However, this cannot all be about drugs services and picking up the pieces after things have gone wrong; it can also be about prevention. We should, as somebody once said at this Dispatch Box, understand a little more and condemn a little less.