Agenda item
Motion B: Local Authority Mental Health Challenge - Proposed by Councillor Alex Wilson, Seconded by Councillor Michele Mead
One in four people experience a mental health problem of some kind each year. One in six report experiencing common mental health problems in any given week in England. To put this into context, on the last census in 2021 there was a population of 114,200 in West Oxfordshire, meaning that 19,033 people are going through this on a weekly basis. What is being done here and at County isn’t enough.
We can play a crucial role in improving the mental health of every member of our community, and to tackle some of the widest and most entrenched inequalities in health, as well as the misconceptions that are applied with these. This administration and others must make this a priority across all local authority areas of responsibility, as the current level of support locally is not good enough for those who are in need.
We ask the administration to appoint a Member as “Mental Health Champion” (MHC).
The MHC will advocate for mental health issues in council meetings and policy development, will reach out to the local community to raise awareness of mental health issues and challenge stigma, and will listen to people with personal experience of mental health and get their perspective on local needs and priorities.
The MHC will scrutinise areas that have an impact on people's mental health such as Housing needs, developments, and other areas, will look at fostering local partnerships between agencies to support people with mental health problems more effectively, and will identify at least one priority each year for focused work.
The MHC will respond to occasional requests from the challenge coordinator for updates on activities undertaken in the role of member champion, and will have access to advice and support from the mental health challenge national partners, to resources on the challenge website, and an annual meeting with other member champions to share information, experience, and ideas.
We also ask the Council to Identify an existing officer to function as lead officer for mental health.
The officer would:
- Advise the member Champion on current issues and priorities;
- Support strategies initiated by the member champion;
- Raise awareness among council staff about mental health issues;
- Seek external support for activities led by the council to promote mental health and wellbeing;
- Provide information to the member champion to support their work;
- Liaise with mental health challenge national partners to secure information and advice.
The lead officer will also have access to the benefits described above for member champion, will support positive mental health in all areas of our community, work with local partners to offer effective support for people with mental health needs, tackle discrimination on the grounds of mental health in our local community, and proactively listen to people of all ages and backgrounds about their needs for better mental health.
Council Resolves to request the Leader of the Council to:
1. Sign the Local Authority Mental Health Challenge;
2. Appoint a member as “Mental Health Champion” (MHC);
3. Identify an existing officer to function as lead officer for mental health.
Minutes:
Councillor Alex Wilson introduced the motion, which sought to highlight challenges that people experience with mental health and challenge the Council and Oxfordshire County Council to do more to tackle the stigma attached to challenges people across the district and county faced regarding mental health. Councillor Wilson further highlighted the importance of ensuring that the challenges faced by those suffering from mental health stigmas was better, more widely understood, adding that the appointment of a Council ‘Mental Health Champion’ (MHC) would be pivotal in providing such support.
In debate, members stated the importance of the work a MHC would provide to both Council and residents of the district. Members also alluded to external training, including mental health first aid training, that had been received on the matter, highlighting the connection between a greater understanding of mental health challenges and member casework. Members also made reference to challenges faced by themselves in the past, highlighting the importance of the motion and how much it was welcomed.
Members also referred to ongoing work surrounding mental health, including the work of a Youth Needs Assessment which highlighted challenges faced amongst younger people in the community. Members also stated the importance of remembering that it was not always clear what individuals went through, and that the motion would help to lead to a better understanding.
Members also cited the importance of the work of the Council’s Community Wellbeing Team, and highlighted the ongoing importance of their work in relation to tackling mental health challenges in the district, would link brilliantly to the work and awareness generated by a Member MHC.
Members also referred to potential, future work of championing resolutions and addressing mental health challenges, whereby Group Leaders would discuss the issue in more detail at a later date, adding resilience and strength to tacking mental health problems head on. Members also referred to challenges faced as a result of professional endeavours outside of the Council, stating that challenges faced by individuals would only grow if action was not taken to highlight the issues at hand.
In seconding the motion, Councillor Michele Mead welcomed the unanimous support for the motion and that it was warming to hear the keenness of members to help to highlight the challenges faced surrounding mental health. Councillor Mead also stated her gratitude to members for coming together in a united fashion to support the motion, and that politics had no part to play in addressing the subject matter.
Councillor Alex Wilson thanked members for their overall contributions and for their understanding as to the importance of the motion, and supporting those affected by the subject matter.
Councillor Alex Wilson proposed that the motion as set out on the agenda paper, be adopted by Council. This was seconded by Councillor Michele Mead, was put to a vote, and was unanimously agreed by Council.
Council Resolved to pass the following Motion:
One in four people experience a mental health problem of some kind each year. One in six report experiencing common mental health problems in any given week in England. To put this into context, on the last census in 2021 there was a population of 114,200 in West Oxfordshire, meaning that 19,033 people are going through this on a weekly basis. What is being done here and at County isn’t enough.
We can play a crucial role in improving the mental health of every member of our community, and to tackle some of the widest and most entrenched inequalities in health, as well as the misconceptions that are applied with these. This administration and others must make this a priority across all local authority areas of responsibility, as the current level of support locally is not good enough for those who are in need.
We ask the administration to appoint a Member as “Mental Health Champion” (MHC).
The MHC will advocate for mental health issues in council meetings and policy development, will reach out to the local community to raise awareness of mental health issues and challenge stigma, and will listen to people with personal experience of mental health and get their perspective on local needs and priorities.
The MHC will scrutinise areas that have an impact on people's mental health such as Housing needs, developments, and other areas, will look at fostering local partnerships between agencies to support people with mental health problems more effectively, and will identify at least one priority each year for focused work.
The MHC will respond to occasional requests from the challenge coordinator for updates on activities undertaken in the role of member champion, and will have access to advice and support from the mental health challenge national partners, to resources on the challenge website, and an annual meeting with other member champions to share information, experience, and ideas.
We also ask the Council to Identify an existing officer to function as lead officer for mental health.
The officer would:
· Advise the member Champion on current issues and priorities;
· Support strategies initiated by the member champion;
· Raise awareness among council staff about mental health issues;
· Seek external support for activities led by the council to promote mental health and wellbeing;
· Provide information to the member champion to support their work;
· Liaise with mental health challenge national partners to secure information and advice.
The lead officer will also have access to the benefits described above for member champion, will support positive mental health in all areas of our community, work with local partners to offer effective support for people with mental health needs, tackle discrimination on the grounds of mental health in our local community, and proactively listen to people of all ages and backgrounds about their needs for better mental health.
Council Resolves to request the Leader of the Council to:
1. Sign the Local Authority Mental Health Challenge;
2. Appoint a member as “Mental Health Champion” (MHC);
3. Identify an existing officer to function as lead officer for mental health.
The Chair drew the meeting to a close by thanking Members for their attendance and for their contributions during the meeting. The Chair also highlighted that the meeting was the last meeting of Council during the current municipal year, and took the opportunity to wish those members who would seek re-election to the Council at the next round of local elections well with their campaigning.
The Chair also paid tribute to those Members who were standing down at the next round of local elections, and thanked them for their service to West Oxfordshire District Council.
Councillor Harry St. John rose to thank the residents of North Leigh for their support during their term of office, and thanked the work of officers for their continuing hard work, adding that their support was invaluable and should not go unnoticed by others.
Councillor St. John also paid tribute to the work of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP), adding the impact of their work had been keenly felt by many across the district, and also on a national level.
Councillor St. John summed up by thanking Members of the Council, both past and present, for their resolve in striving to do what was right by residents and thanked them for their support over the time they were a Councillor.