Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of charities set up to help people suffering from depression.

The Government consistently recognises the contribution that charities make to the mental health of the people of this country. As recognised in our mental health strategy, No health without mental health and in Closing the Gap: Priorities of essential change in mental health, charities are integral partners to our drive to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the nation.

The Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme brings together a range of voluntary sector organisations to inform and shape national policy. The programme provides a forum for policy makers to reach hundreds of thousands of voluntary and community sector organisations through the extensive depth and reach of the partners' networks. The Programme includes a number of mental health charities including the Depression Alliance, the leading charity in the United Kingdom for anyone affected by depression. The Depression Alliance is a member of the Mental Health Providers Forum, who represents a number of charities on the Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme.

The Time to Change campaign, led by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, seeks to end discrimination against people with mental health problems, including those with depression. Between 2011 and 2015 the Department is providing £16 million to the campaign. Time to Change includes a national high-profile marketing and media campaign which has successfully reached 29 million people. Recent research has shown a reduction in the average levels of discrimination since 2008.

The Department, alongside Public Health England and NHS England, is working with voluntary sector stakeholders through the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme, including the Mental Health Consortia, to support voluntary sector organisations in health and social care and help them realise their potential.