Mental health and wellbeing strategy: delivery plan 2023-2025

Verity House and partnership working

Scottish Government and COSLA will take the Strategy forward in partnership to support our joined up, whole system approach. In progressing our actions, we recognise the differing roles, responsibilities and capacity of our respective organisations and each action will be led jointly or by the most appropriate partner, whilst maintaining a spirit of collaboration and joint oversight. We anticipate that our partnership approach and related actions will continue to develop with each planning cycle.

All of our actions are aimed at improving the experience and outcomes of people who use supports and services. We know that wider partners– as well as communities and individuals – all have a part to play in improving mental health and wellbeing in Scotland. This may range from information sharing, feedback or delivering supports and services. Working together will be crucial to the success of this Plan. For example, we will work closely together with those involved in the delivery of actions relating to new service standards and specifications to ensure that these can be rolled out effectively.

Within our Delivery Plan we have provided an indicative action lead and likely key partners as we take the actions forward, recognising that this is not an exhaustive list and will evolve as the Plan progresses.

The Verity House Agreement, signed by the First Minister and COSLA President on 30 June 2023, sets out our principles for working together to empower local communities, tackle poverty, transform the economy and provide high-quality public services. It includes commitments to:

• agree a new Fiscal Framework governing how local authorities’ funding is allocated, reducing ring-fencing and giving them control over their budgets to meet local needs.
• setting the expectation that services will be delivered at a local level unless agreed otherwise.
• incorporate the European Charter of Local Self-Government into Scots Law.
• reform public services, building on the partnership working established during the pandemic recovery.
• agree a monitoring and accountability framework, drawing on proportionate reporting and data, to provide evidence and visibility over progress towards agreed outcomes.

These commitments will have relevance across our plan, and we will seek to realise them through our actions whilst aligning with wider work on the Agreement.