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1132397

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to strengthen protections for mental health at work under health and safety legislation.
tabling member constituency	Knowsley
tabling member printed	Sir George Howarth
uin	265450
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>In October 2017, the Prime Minister welcomed and accepted the recommendations of the <em>Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health</em> <em>and employers</em>. This recognised that employers should develop a comprehensive approach to managing mental health that includes implementing activity on preventing mental ill health caused by work, promoting good mental health in the workplace and supporting individuals who experience poor mental health. Actions to implement this comprehensive approach are described within the mental health standards developed by the reviewers and accepted by Government.</p><p> </p><p>Existing duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 contribute by requiring employers to put in place measures to prevent causes of work-related mental ill health. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to undertake a risk assessment and act on that assessment by removing or putting in place reasonable steps to control the causes of work-related mental ill health. Additionally, under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, employers have a responsibility to consider the mental health needs of their staff as part of their ‘first aid needs assessment’ and decide on what support is necessary. This assessment enables employers to put in place measures that will directly respond to their employee needs and allows businesses flexibility where those needs may change. Supporting individuals in distress until professional help arrives is an important feature of any first aid event regardless of its nature. It is a key component in the first aid syllabus contained in the regulations and meets the NHS recommended approach for assisting an individual who is experiencing a mental health crisis.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Government is committed to working with key stakeholders, public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes implement the mental health standards, comply with their legal duties and realise the benefit of healthy inclusive workplaces.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/06/2019 14:32:11 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	481 label Biography information for Sir George Howarth

1132253

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to implement the six core standards for workplaces as set out in the Government’s thriving at work report; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Knowsley
tabling member printed	Sir George Howarth
uin	264730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>In November 2017, the joint DWP/DHSC Work and Health Unit (WHU) published Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability setting out our response to Thriving at Work and WHU is now overseeing progress across 40 recommendations. The Civil Service is committed to being a leading employer and implementing the core and enhanced mental health standards to deliver lasting cultural change. All main government departments have benchmarked themselves against the mental health standards to identify best practice and areas requiring further action, and every Civil Service Permanent Secretary now has a performance objective directly related to implementing the standards and Civil Service Wellbeing Confident Leaders training is being rolled out to senior leaders.</p><p> </p><p>One of the review’s recommendations was about transparency as a significant opportunity to encourage cultural change around mental health. We have worked with partners, including employers, to develop a framework to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability and mental health in the workplace. This framework was published on 22<sup>nd</sup> November 2018 and is aimed at large employers with 250 or more employees. The WHU is an active member of the Thriving at Work Leadership Council consisting of a range of business and public sector representatives, and leading trade associations. The council is an employer led group that will continue to meet throughout 2019 with the primary objectives to champion the mental health standards and explore innovative solutions to further drive their implementation and adoption. Individual members committed to promoting the standards through their networks and to create sector champions.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/06/2019 12:17:50 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	481 label Biography information for Sir George Howarth

1129607

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration has been given to providing employers with information and support on mental health in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	260087
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2019 answer text <p>The DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Unit is overseeing progress across 40 recommendations that were made in <em>Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers</em> published in October 2017 these range from short term deliverables to longer term reform. Government is committed to working with the authors of the review and key stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes act to implement the core and enhanced standards and help them, and their employees, realise the benefits of healthy, inclusive workplaces.</p><p>One of the review’s recommendations was about transparency as a significant opportunity to encourage cultural change around mental health. We have worked with partners, including employers, to develop a framework to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability and mental health in the workplace. This framework was published on 22<sup>nd</sup> November 2018 and is aimed at large employers with 250 or more employees. To improve information and advice for employers we are working with Mind and the Royal Foundation to continue developing their Mental Health at Work website (<a href="https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk" target="_blank">https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk</a>) which launched on 11<sup>th</sup> September 2018.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 12/06/2019 12:58:58 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1127218

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on ensuring that workplaces (a) have stand-alone mental health policies for employees and (b) provide mental health training for management and staff to support colleagues.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	255298
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>The DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Unit is overseeing progress across 40 recommendations that were made in <em>Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers</em> published in October 2017 these range from short term deliverables to longer term reform. Government is committed to working with the authors of the review and key stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes act to implement the core and enhanced standards and help them, and their employees, realise the benefits of healthy, inclusive workplaces.</p><p> </p><p>To improve information and advice for employers we are working with Mind and the Royal Foundation to continue developing their Mental Health at Work website (<a href="https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk" target="_blank">https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk</a>) which launched on 11<sup>th</sup> September 2018.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/05/2019 11:47:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1038413

registered interest
date	09/01/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that everyone has access to mental health first aid in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	206742
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>Employers are already required under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 to consider mental health alongside physical health when undertaking their first aid needs assessment. On the 21<sup>st</sup> November 2018 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published guidance, developed with Mental Health First Aid-England, to clarify this point and improve employer understanding.</p><p> </p><p>Findings from recent reviews<sup>1, 2 </sup>looking at the impact of mental health first aid training in a workplace environment show that there are a number of knowledge gaps which mean it is not possible to say whether it is effective in improving the management of mental health in workplaces, or whether it is the only effective mechanism for support. The findings also highlight several additional prevention and management measures that employers should put in place to supplement the essentially reactive approach of mental health first aid.</p><p> </p><p>Government recognises that mental health first aid training has a role to play in a comprehensive approach to managing mental health in workplaces and anecdotally some individuals report positive benefits. In November 2017, the joint DWP/DHSC Work and Health Unit published “<em>Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability” </em>command paper which describes the range of actions that Government is taking forward, including building support for those experiencing mental ill-health to remain in or enter the workplace. This includes implementing recommendations from the independent Lord Stevenson and Paul Farmer ‘Thriving at Work’ review published in October 2017 that considered how employers can better support the mental health of their employees. Its central recommendation identified the need for employers to adopt a comprehensive set of mental health standards. This comprehensive approach will help employers to encourage an open, transparent and supportive organisational culture and tailor their actions to address varying factors such as their employee needs, type of work and size of company. The Government is working closely with employers of all sizes to help them implement the standards and easily access the right support and guidance.</p><p> </p><p>1: <a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr1135.pdf" target="_blank">www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr1135.pdf</a></p><p>2: <a href="https://www.iosh.co.uk/MHFAworkplace" target="_blank">https://www.iosh.co.uk/MHFAworkplace</a></p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 17/01/2019 10:09:24 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1005881

registered interest
date	12/11/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has of trends in the level of incidences of (a) stress, (b) anxiety and (c) depression in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
uin	190563
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>No data is available to assess separate trends in (a) stress, (b) anxiety and (c) depression within the workplace, although data on this group of conditions collectively, where they are reported to be work-related, is available.</p><p> </p><p>Statisticians have assessed that the trend in the rate of new cases (incidence rate) of self-reported work-related stress, anxiety or depression, has remained broadly flat over the last 15 years. However, the trend in the rate of all cases (new and existing cases) of self-reported work-related stress, anxiety or depression, although previously broadly flat, has shown signs of increasing in recent years.</p><p> </p><p>Further details are available from: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 20/11/2018 17:26:00 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

900541

registered interest
date	09/05/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Thriving at Work: a review of mental health and employers, published jointly by her Department and the Department of Health and Social care in October 2017, what the timetable is for the implementation of the recommendations of that report.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Wavertree
tabling member printed	Luciana Berger
uin	142433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2018 answer text <p>The Government responded to the full review as part of our response to the consultation on the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper on 30<sup>th</sup> November. As part of our recently published command paper <em>Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability</em>, we set out a broad ranging strategy to further support disabled people and people with health conditions – including mental health conditions - to enter and thrive in work. This publication also included our formal response to all of the Stevenson/Farmer review’s recommendation. The Government is overseeing progress across recommendations that range from short term deliverables to longer term reform.</p><p> </p><p>The Prime Minister accepted the recommendations that apply to the Civil Service and NHSE as employers on the day of publication. The Civil Service is in a good place to meet the standards and has identified areas of positive practice particularly surrounding mental health awareness, support and demonstration of accountability, and the NHS is implementing the mental health standards through the new single NHS Workforce Health and Wellbeing Framework, which will be published in the summer.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 14/05/2018 14:14:48 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4036 label Biography information for Luciana Berger

900543

registered interest
date	09/05/2018
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Thriving at Work: a review of mental health and employers, published jointly by her Department and the Department of Health and Social care in October 2017, what the timetable is for establishing a Mental Health and Employer Leadership Council to oversee the progress on the recommendations of that report.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Wavertree
tabling member printed	Luciana Berger
uin	142434
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2018 answer text <p>The Government responded to the full review on 30<sup>th</sup> November as part of the command paper <em>Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability</em>. As set out in this publication, we agree with the review’s recommendation on the need to provide leadership and accountability, and maintain the momentum generated by the review. We will set out further plans shortly.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 14/05/2018 16:23:07 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4036 label Biography information for Luciana Berger

672192

registered interest
date	12/01/2017
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to introduce further measures to assist employers in supporting employees to return to work after a mental health-related absence; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	59830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2017 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health have published ‘Improving Lives – the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper’. The Green Paper sets out the Government’s proposals for improving work and health outcomes for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>Many employers are already creating healthy, inclusive workplaces, but more needs to be done so that employers provide the support needed for employees with disabilities and long-term health conditions, including mental health conditions, to help them get into and stay in work</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Through the Green Paper we are asking about the barriers preventing employers from recruiting and retaining disabled people and people with health conditions, and what measures would help them in doing so. Specifically:</p><p> </p><ul><li>We are consulting on reform to Statutory Sick Pay to support phased returns to work. A phased return to work can be beneficial to both employer and employee, as it may help prevent further periods of absence or the employee falling out of work entirely;</li><li>How we can transform occupational health provision to ensure it more closely meets the spectrum of need, including the needs of employers.</li><li>The Green Paper also announced a review of the current operation of the fit note. This review will look at the current system and whether it meets the needs of its users – including employers. We are seeking views to inform this review through the consultation.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Further, the Government has asked Paul Farmer and Lord Stevenson to conduct a review into how best to ensure employees with mental health conditions are supported to thrive in the workplace and perform at their best. We will also be reviewing internally the evidence around discrimination in the workplace for people with mental health.</p><p>This review will build on our Green Paper consultation to help build the evidence base around mental health and employment.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 17/01/2017 17:31:38 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms