Mental health and wellbeing strategy: delivery plan 2023-2025

Priority 5

Work across Scottish and Local Government and with partners to develop a collective approach to understanding and shared responsibility for promoting good mental health and addressing the causes of mental health inequalities, supporting groups who are particularly at risk.

Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8

Challenges and opportunities:

• Global challenges
• Stigma and discrimination
• Delivering supports and services
• Primary and community care
• Workforce
• Data and evidence

Key area of focus

We know that mental health and wellbeing are influenced by many factors – home life, work, physical health, environment and housing, income, relationships, and community, amongst many other things. We know that experience of difficult or traumatic life experiences or inequalities also influences people’s mental health and wellbeing, and their support needs.

Some groups of people can experience poorer mental health and wellbeing because of social or economic factors that they cannot control, such as low income or poverty, poor housing, limited employment opportunities, or because they experience prejudice and discrimination.

We recognise the need to prevent poor mental health and wellbeing occurring where possible. We will do this by taking a cross- government, cross-sectoral approach to understanding and addressing the social determinants of mental health, and will build this into decision-making, governance and planning processes at national and local level. We know mental health inequalities are also caused by barriers to accessing and poor experience of support and services. Alongside actions on social determinants, we want to improve access to and experience of mental health support and services for marginalised groups. In this first Plan, we will focus on actions under priorities 4 and 7. We will work closely with the Equality and Human Rights Forum and people with lived experience to develop, test and learn from a good practice approach to implementation.

Outcomes

• The overall mental health and wellbeing of the population is increased and mental health inequalities are reduced.
• People with mental health conditions, including those with co-existing health conditions experience improved quality and length of life, free from stigma and discrimination.
• People have an increased knowledge and understanding of mental health and wellbeing and how to access appropriate support.
• Communities are better equipped to act as a source of support for people’s mental health and wellbeing, championing the eradication of stigma and discrimination and providing a range of opportunities to connect with others.
• We adopt a ‘mental health and wellbeing in all policies’ approach to facilitate cross-policy actions that more effectively address the wide- ranging social, economic and environmental factors that impact people’s mental health and wellbeing, including poverty, stigma, discrimination, and injustice.
• Comprehensive support and services that promote and support people’s mental health and wellbeing are available in a timely way that meets and respects individual needs.
• Decision-makers and practitioners (including the third sector) are better able to access the evidence, research and data they need to ensure a more evidence-based approach to policy formation and practice.

Strategic Action 5.1: We will take a cross-government, cross-sectoral approach to understanding and addressing the social determinants of mental health and the bi-directional relationship between mental health and factors such as poverty, employment, discrimination and trauma, housing and education, building this into decision-making, governance and planning processes at national and local level.

5.1.1 Throughout the lifespan of this Delivery Plan, we will work across national and local government, reflecting the recommendations set out by Audit Scotland, to develop a joint approach to understanding and tackling the underlying issues that lead to poor mental health.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government/COSLA PHS, local authorities, HSCPs

5.1.2 Throughout the lifespan of this Delivery Plan, develop and further embed consideration of mental health and an understanding of socio-economic determinants of mental health within local leadership and planning, for example, in relation to sports, culture, housing, education, greenspace.

Lead and Key Partners: COSLA Improvement Service, local authorities

5.1.3 Public Health Scotland will lead a collaborative programme of work to develop a whole systems approach to understanding and taking action in relation to the key social determinants of mental health. This will involve:

• bringing together communities, practitioners and policy makers across the system to build a collective understanding of the social determinants of mental health;
• having a focus on understanding and promoting primary prevention approaches;
• identifying and testing specific actions for improving population mental health and reducing mental health inequalities.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government/COSLA PHS

5.1.4 Continue to work to implement the principles laid out in the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Action Plan for Scotland by autumn 2024, to ensure improved access to mental health treatment and support for veterans.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government NHS Boards, HSCPs, IJBs, local authorities, third sector organisations including Combat Stress

Strategic Action 5.2: Scottish Government will continue to prioritise actions on mental health and wellbeing as part of the Best Start, Bright Futures Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, the Promise, Whole Family Wellbeing Funding and national approaches to Fair Work, as well as ensuring there is a focus on these in our wider mental health and wellbeing policies.

5.2.1 Prioritise poverty and inequality, including supporting the Best Start, Bright Futures 6 priority family groups within the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults in 2023/24, sharing relevant learning and practice as this emerges.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government TSIs, local authorities, HSCPs

5.2.2 Scottish Government will provide funding in 2023/24 to The Poverty Alliance and Mental Health Foundation to take forward a programme of work that will build capacity within grass-roots community organisations to better support the mental health needs of people experiencing poverty.

Lead and Key Partners: Scottish Government Mental Health Foundation, The Poverty Alliance