Asked by: Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to celebrate World Wetlands Day.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Yes, my Department will be marking World Wetlands Day, including through a variety of communications and engagement activities. Wetlands play a crucial role in sustaining life globally - they benefit water, food, livelihoods, climate, cultural pursuits, and biodiversity – and this day marks an opportunity to promote these benefits.
This year’s World Wetlands Day theme is ‘Wetland and human wellbeing’, reflecting that Wetlands positively impact mental wellbeing by promoting mindfulness and emotional balance through the connection to nature they provide and offer recreational opportunities, contributing to stress management and relaxation.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the wellbeing of Jobcentre staff.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP continues to review and refine its wellbeing offer to ensure it remains up-to-date, relevant, and accessible to all. We have a DWP Colleague ‘My Wellbeing button’. The button enables quick, easy access to our DWP Wellbeing support offer from everyone’s desktop and takes colleagues to a newly designed wellbeing triage page where colleagues can quickly access the right information and support based on their needs. For example, ‘I need support today’ through to ‘I am looking for guidance as a line manager’. The purpose of this button is to raise the visibility of our wellbeing offer and provide a quick and streamlined journey to the service required, strengthening our culture of putting colleague wellbeing at the heart of everything we do.
Within the Wellbeing button, the below support can be found:
‣ Employee Assistance Provision which includes:
‣ Flu vaccinations: Information for all DWP colleagues who are not able to access, or are not eligible for, the NHS flu vaccine can claim a refund if they choose to have a flu vaccination in 2023/24.
‣ Details of key wellbeing dates across the year which includes events/webinars to promote the day along with helpful tips for staff.
‣ A network of over 1,000 wellbeing advocates. Colleagues who have been given permission to give 5% of their time to support employee wellbeing. Colleagues can call them to discuss the wellbeing support offer and they actively promote the offer through giving presentations locally. We also have a Buddy Network who are volunteers that colleagues can call if they ever feel lonely and simply want a chat and have a wellbeing check-in.
‣ Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) who are specially trained colleagues who offer immediate support to others experiencing mental ill health or emotional distress. They also look out for early signs of developing issues and promote mental health awareness across the Department.
‣ Community Networks, these range from networks offering support with the Menopause, Cancer, alcohol, religion and more. They offer peer to peer support and regularly run events.
‣ Eye test – colleagues can access a free eye test once every two years or more frequently if advised by an optician or medical advisor, or if they are having visual problems whilst working at a workstation.
‣ Sanitary provision - DWP provide free sanitary products across the DWP Estate for anyone with an immediate need, to support colleague health and wellbeing.
‣ Charity for Civil Servants who offer Independent, impartial financial and emotional support to all Civil Servants. Assistance includes help for carers, financial support and advice, wellbeing support, mindfulness, anxiety support, nutrition, sleep, menopause, bereavement and Podcasts and Webinars
‣ Wellbeing and Resilience Toolbox which can be accessed by Line managers to lead their own team training on resilience, slide packs and facilitator packs are available to talk their team through sessions.
‣ 5 step Wellbeing Conversation Tools - a tool to help colleagues discuss how they are feeling, identify early warning signs of emotional distress, and explore a way forward.
‣ Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) – This document is to aid employee and line manager discussions (related to mental health/wellbeing). The WRAP is designed to help employees to reflect on the causes and symptoms of their own workplace mental health and wellbeing challenges, and to take practical steps to manage these.
‣ Stress evaluation tool – this tool is designed to assist staff to concentrate on pro-active and preventative measures to good stress management.
Annually we update the DWP voluntary reporting on disability, mental health and wellbeing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) voluntary report on Gov UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken steps to support social clubs for people with dementia in (a) Romford and (b) England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the Department does not promote specific clubs or societies for people living with dementia and their carers, we recognise that clubs and societies can be important in supporting people to engage with their community and reduce social isolation.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia, published in June 2019, includes guidelines for offering activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness, and animal assisted therapy to help promote wellbeing. Local authorities are also required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including unpaid carers, under the Care Act 2014.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support the practice of mindfulness among (a) serving armed forces staff, (b) reservists and (c) veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2023 made a significant commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of all Defence Personnel. Its primary goal is to ensure that every member of the Defence community leads a healthy lifestyle in a supportive environment. Defence is dedicated to enhancing the overall health and wellbeing of our people. This includes promoting mental fitness and resilience and normalising time spent working on mental fitness, as with physical fitness, whilst embedding healthy habits.
Throughout their Service, members of the Armed Forces have access to a wide range of support to ensure their mental fitness and resilience is maximised and they are given opportunities to enhance their wellbeing. To support mindfulness, members of the Armed Forces, Regular and Reserve, and veterans have access to HeadFIT For Life, a mental fitness tool to support the whole force. HeadFIT is an externally accessible website that assists Defence personnel in developing a proactive approach to mental fitness. Its aim is to establish healthy habits that will help unlock potential, achieve personal goals, and reach optimal well-being.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support community-led initiatives for dementia support in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the Department does not promote specific clubs or societies for people living with dementia and their carers, we recognise that clubs and societies can be important in supporting people to engage with their community and reduce social isolation.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia, published in June 2019, includes guidelines for offering activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness and animal assisted therapy to help promote wellbeing. Local authorities are also required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including unpaid carers, under the Care Act 2014.
There are a number of local initiatives provided via third sector charitable organisations that focus on support within their community living with dementia, allowing them to engage closer with the communities they live in. For example, within Solihull there is the facility of a Dementia Café and the ability to attend a Singing for the Brain event.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the integration of dementia patients into community activities in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the Department does not promote specific clubs or societies for people living with dementia and their carers, we recognise that clubs and societies can be important in supporting people to engage with their community and reducing social isolation.
Local authorities are also required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including unpaid carers, under the Care Act 2014. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to work with the third sector in their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia, published in June 2019, includes guidelines for offering activities, such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness and animal assisted therapy, to help promote wellbeing.
There are a number of local initiatives provided via third sector charitable organisations that focus on support for those within their community living with dementia, allowing them to engage more closely with the communities they live in. For example, within Solihull there is a Dementia Café facility and the opportunity to attend a Singing for the Brain event.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of prescribing mindfulness on the NHS for mental health issues.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. Mindfulness-based therapies are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as a way to treat less severe depression.
The £200 million funding announced for digital mental health by my Rt hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the Spring Budget will, in part, be used to modernise and digitise mental health services in England, including by providing wellness and clinical-grade apps, many of which include elements of mindfulness.
Information about mindfulness is included in other resources available to support mental health and wellbeing, such as Every Mind Matters, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/
Further information is available from the NHS website at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of dementia care in England.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Department has issued guidance ‘After diagnosis of dementia: what to expect from health and care services’, which is available at the following link:
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia, includes guidelines for offering activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness and animal assisted therapy to help promote wellbeing. The Quality Standard is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/QS184
We are reviewing plans for dementia in England and further information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help promote clubs and societies that support people with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Whilst the Department does not promote specific clubs or societies for people living with dementia and their carers, we recognise that clubs and societies can be important in supporting people to engage with their community and reduce social isolation.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia published in June 2019 includes guidelines for offering activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness and animal assisted therapy to help promote wellbeing. Local authorities are also required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including carers, under the Care Act 2014.
We are working with stakeholders and the health and care system to identify and implement actions to support people with dementia and their carers. Later this year we will be setting plans on dementia for England.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to support clubs for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, as well as carers of people with those conditions.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Whilst the Department does not promote specific clubs or societies for people living with dementia and their carers, we recognise that clubs and societies can be important in supporting people to engage with their community and reduce social isolation.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia published in June 2019 includes guidelines for offering activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness and animal assisted therapy to help promote wellbeing. Local authorities are also required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including carers, under the Care Act 2014.
We are working with stakeholders and the health and care system to identify and implement actions to support people with dementia and their carers. Later this year we will be setting plans on dementia for England.