All upper tier and unitary local authorities (152) who have responsibility for public health, were sent Freedom of Infor
Public Mental Health in England, 2015 All upper tier and unitary local authorities (152) who have responsibility for public health, were sent Freedom of Information requests to identify spend and activity on public mental health interventions in 2014-15. Local authorities were asked how much of their public health budgets were spent on public mental health, as well as being asked to outline their public mental health activity against a number of themes. Of the 131 responses (86 per cent) who provided us with valid (disaggregated) data on the amount they spent on public mental health, on average only 1 per cent of public health budgets was spent on public mental health in 2014-15. Nine local authorities reported no spending on public mental health. 143 valid (94 per cent) responses were received about public mental health activities, which told us:
Only half (48 per cent) the local authorities reported activity in schools. This is surprising given the range of interventions available, clear evidence on the benefits of public mental health work in schools, and the role that local authorities play in overseeing many of the schools in the communities.
25 local authorities (17 per cent) identified that they are promoting some form of workplace wellbeing charter, of which mental health is a component, to local employers.
84 local authorities (59 per cent) commission some form of mental health training and 39 (27 per cent) are funding training on Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) (this was the most cited training package).
32 local authorities (22 per cent) identified a range of activities to promote smoking cessation amongst people with mental health problems, while 25 (17 per cent) identified activities to encourage physical activity and sport amongst people with mental health problems.
Just under three thirds (62 per cent) reported work on suicide prevention - this was the theme with the most responses. o 46 local authorities specifically identified they were working on suicide prevention reviews, audits, plans and/or in multi-disciplinary groups o 34 local authorities specifically identified that they funded suicide awareness training for front-line staff, with 22 specifically mentioning Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) training and 6 mentioning SafeTalk o 16 local authorities declared funding for postvention / bereavement services o Six local authorities highlighted suicide prevention work specifically targeting men o Five local authorities identified that they provided some funding to the Samaritans
Of the local authorities that identified spending on parenting programmes, only a fifth identified that they commission evidence-based programmes that have been shown to have an impact on mental health (for instance Triple P, Incredible Years etc.) or specifically aimed at parents with mental health problems.