Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Backbench Business Committee debate on Mental Health First Aid on 17 January 2019 Official Report columns 1366-1395, what steps her Department is taking to ensure employers are aware of the the Health and Safety Executive's guidelines on existing requirements to consider mental health alongside physical health when undertaking a first aid needs assessment, published in November 2018.

On the 21 November 2018 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published revised guidance for employers on compliance with the existing Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 (http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/needs-assessment.htm). HSE developed this revised guidance with Mental Health First Aid-England to clarify and increase employer understanding that mental health should already be considered alongside physical health when undertaking a first aid needs assessment. The findings from this assessment will help direct employers to decide what measures they need to put in place. There are a range of actions that employers can undertake, but their choice should be guided by the outcomes of their first aid needs assessment and will depend on factors such as employee needs, the type of work and size of company.

HSE has communicated this clarified guidance directly to key stakeholders involved in the design and delivery of first aid at work training courses.

HSE is also taking opportunities to raise awareness through existing activity under its Health and Work programme, where preventing work-related mental ill health is a key priority. There is also related wider government activity led by the Joint DWP/DHSC Work and Health Unit to promote mental health core standards from the Lord Stevenson and Paul Farmer ‘Thriving at Work’ review published in October 2017, to help employers implement a comprehensive approach to managing mental health in the workplace.