Within one week of Labour being elected, Leeds Mind received a visit from some distinguished guests: Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability and Baroness Sherlock, Minister for Lords.
The ministers were joined by Lorraine Jackson CBE, Director for Information Risk Management and Assurance at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); and Katie Farringdon, Director-General for Disability, Health and Pensions in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Hosting alongside our peers from Mind, our guests joined us at Leeds Mind premises, DeLacy House, where we run our Employment Support, Financial Wellbeing and Young People’s Services.
They were welcomed by CEO, Lucy Hancock; Operations Manager, Jules Stimpson; and Service Lead, Ethan Foster. They met and heard the experiences of two young people who have been using our services, along with their support workers: Cadi Thomas and Shannon Brown.
(L-R) Jacob Day, Ethan Foster, Nil Guzelgun, Stephen Timms, Baroness Sherlock, Lucy Hancock and Jules Stimpson
Finally, all attendees came together for a roundtable discussion, joined by our Senior Money & Mental Health Coach, Jacob Day, and Mind’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, Nil Guzelgun.
The ministers were keen to discuss how Leeds Mind supports people through our WorkPlace Leeds, Money in Mind and Youth in Mind services. They were particularly concerned about the increased level of economic inactivity amongst young people, and we discussed how mental wellbeing and lack of accessible support is a major driving factor in this.
During the roundtable discussion, we were able to advocate for a number of things, including:
- How critical it is that the planned young people’s hubs are focused on collaborative support over clinical interventions
- The need for a change to short-termist thinking around funding, for Third Sector organisations like ours to be able to continue to deliver meaningful impact
- The critical involvement the Third Sector must have in rising to the current challenge around mental health and wellbeing
CEO of Leeds Mind, Lucy Hancock, commented: “The timing of the visit in proximity to the election underlines the urgency and importance of addressing mental health problems in the new political landscape, which is an important opportunity for local Minds and the wider Mind network.
“At Leeds Mind, we were heartened by how engaged the ministers and the accompanying Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) and Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) directors and aides were.
“We felt privileged to be able to offer them firsthand insight into the difference our support makes to young people’s lives, and people’s employment. We hope our advocacy and insight during this meeting plays some part in shaping future policies that support mental health services at both local and national levels.
“Change is needed, and we are pleased to see the importance of mental health recognised in the King’s Speech last week, with the prioritisation of improving mental health provision for young people, and modernising the Mental Health Act.”
We wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in making the visit a success, including our colleagues at Mind, but especially to the young people who joined us and shared their experiences with the ministers.
