Asked by: Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination as a result of signing up to the Time to Change Pledge.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Defra signed up to Time to Change in March 2014, and it forms part of a wider, established wellbeing programme. There have been a number of activities, including:
· launch of a Break the Stigma (BTS) group was launched in January 2014; an employee-led network of buddies providing support, information, and raising awareness of mental health issues. There are now over 140 BTS supporters and over 40 BTS buddies within the Department. BTS buddies share their personal experiences on our intranet and join team meetings to explain the issues of discrimination and stigma and highlight the role of line managers and colleagues in supporting people with mental ill-health.
· Awareness events were held during Mental Health Week, World Mental Health Day, European Week of Health and Safety (theme: Workplace Stress) and Time to Talk Day.
· Intranet pages provide information about mental health and wellbeing and sources of support (e.g. Employee Assistance Programme) for staff and Line Managers.
· Defra promotes Civil Service Learning resources and offers workshops on personal resilience, mindfulness and mental health awareness for line managers.