Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) stigma and (b) gender norms on trends in the number of men accessing mental health services.

NHS England’s Advancing Mental Health Equalities Strategy launched in September 2020, to assess inequalities in access, including those based on gender, and to set out guidance on how services should be taking this into account.

Fundamentally, this strategy aims to ensure that access to the timely, high-quality mental healthcare as described in the NHS Long Term Plan is equitable, by equipping systems with the tools and enablers they need to bridge the gaps between people, such as men, faring worse than others in mental health services.

Middle-aged men are identified in Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy, as a priority group for action. The strategy acknowledges that stigma can be a barrier to people seeking support, and it encourages local government, the National Health Service, and voluntary sector organisations to work together to encourage the reduction of this stigma.