Public Health England (PHE) is encouraging adults in the Midlands to look after their mental health as they do their physical health, through its new Every Mind Matters campaign.

The new campaign highlights that while we can all feel stressed, anxious, low or have trouble sleeping, there are simple actions we can take to manage these issues and prevent them from becoming more serious.

It encourages people to visit the Every Mind Matters guide, a free NHS-approved online resource which provides expert advice, practical tips, and experiences from real people to help manage these issues and those of others.

Each year, around one in four people in England experience a mental health problem, and the proportion of diagnosable common mental health conditions has increased by 20% in 20 years.

A new survey of adults in the Midlands conducted for PHE also shows nearly three quarters (71%) of people in the Midlands report experiencing one or more of low mood, anxiety, stress and trouble sleeping, frequently or occasionally.

Stress is the most common response, with over half (53%) experiencing this frequently or occasionally, compared to 51% for sleeplessness, 46% for low mood and 40% for anxiety.

The survey also found that two thirds (66%) of adults in the Midlands say they look after their physical health on a weekly basis, but less than half (46%) look after their mental health as regularly.

These figures highlight the importance of helping people to better understand and take action on their own mental health.

Having good mental health can help us feel and function better, have more positive relationships with those around us, and deal with and manage difficult times now and into the future. Over time, having good mental health may also reduce our risk of physical health problems.

Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at Public Health England, said:

With the pressures of modern life, it’s normal to feel stressed, anxious, low or have trouble sleeping some of the time. But when these become overwhelming or frequent they can be signs of a more serious problem.

It’s just as important to take action to look after your mental health, as your physical health. Our campaign helps you to protect and improve your own mental health, and help others.do the same.

The Every Mind Matters guide also offers support for social anxiety, trauma, obsessions and compulsions or panic attacks and provides information for people wishing to help friends, family and colleagues experiencing mental health problems.

Every Mind Matters has been developed in conjunction with leading charities, academics and clinicians and is endorsed by leading experts in mental health.

It is being promoted to adults across the Midlands with new TV, radio and online adverts; and is being supported by a range of public sector, charity and commercial partners.

To access expert-led videos and create your own action plan to help look after your mental health, visit the Every Mind Matters guide.

Background

1. ‘Adult psychiatric morbidy in England, 2007: results of a household survey’ is available online from NHS Digital.
2. Research on ‘Trends in morbidity and risk factors’ is published as part of the Health Profile for England report 2018.

The Samaritans’ helpline will remain free for the next four years with support from the government, Theresa May announced today as she marked World Mental Health Day.

New government funding – up to £1.8 million – will help ensure the charity can continue to provide immediate and lifesaving support to everyone who needs it, 24 hours a day.

The Prime Minister also announced today that health minister Jackie Doyle-Price will become the UK’s first Minister for Suicide Prevention.

Around 4,500 people take their own lives each year in England and suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 45. In her new role, the minister will lead government efforts to cut the number of suicides and overcome the stigma that stops people seeking help.

The Minister will lead a new national effort on suicide prevention, bringing together a ministerial taskforce and working with national and local government, experts in suicide and self-harm prevention, charities, clinicians and those personally affected by suicide.

She will also ensure every local area has an effective suicide prevention plan in place, and look at how the latest technology can be used to identify those most at risk.

Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14. The Prime Minister has made a series of further announcements today on children and young people’s mental health:

• Recruitment has now begun for new mental health support teams who will work with schools to ensure young people with mental health issues get the help they need – trainees will begin studying in January and join schools across England next year
• Starting in 2019, the government will publish a ‘State of the Nation’ report every year on World Mental Health Day, highlighting the trends and issues in young people’s mental well-being – the first time children’s mental health will be reported in this way, alongside their physical health and academic attainment
• The government will provide tools to help schools measure their students’ health, including their mental wellbeing – building on the commitment to make education in mental health and resilience a compulsory part of the curriculum

Speaking at a Downing Street reception to mark World Mental Health Day this afternoon, Theresa May is expected to say:

When I first became Prime Minister, I stood on the steps of Downing Street and pledged to fight the burning injustices in our society.

There are few greater examples than the injustices facing those with mental health conditions. But together we can change that.

We can end the stigma that has forced too many to suffer in silence. We can prevent the tragedy of suicide taking too many lives. And we can give the mental wellbeing of our children the priority it so profoundly deserves.

…I have made parity of care a priority for our long-term plan for the NHS. As a result, our record investment in the NHS will mean record investment in mental health.

…We are not looking after our health if we are not looking after our mental health.

So we need true parity between physical and mental health – and not just in our health systems – but in our classrooms, workplaces and communities too.

The Prime Minister will also announce that the government’s new campaign to train a million people in mental health awareness – Every Mind Matters – launches today with a pilot in the West Midlands ahead of a national rollout next Spring.

This week the Health Secretary Matt Hancock is hosting the first ever Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit in London, attended by ministers and representatives from over 50 countries as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

In a landmark agreement, countries at the summit are expected to support a global declaration today to achieve equity for mental health – the first time national governments have come together on this scale to pledge to put mental health on an equal footing with physical health.

Responding to Jackie Doyle-Price’s appointment as ministerial lead for suicide prevention, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:

We’re already making progress when it comes to suicide prevention – the suicide rate is at its lowest for seven years.

But we need to do more to challenge the stigma that people with mental ill-health face and make sure they feel they can reach out for help.

I am delighted we are appointing Jackie Doyle-Price as our dedicated Minister for Suicide Prevention, and I know she will make a real difference.

Every suicide is a preventable death and we are determined to do everything we can to tackle the tragedy of suicide.

Jackie Doyle-Price, Minister for Mental Health, Inequalities and – now – Suicide Prevention, said:

I understand how tragic, devastating and long-lasting the effect of suicide can be on families and communities.

In my time as health minister I have met many people who have been bereaved by suicide and their stories of pain and loss will stay with me for a long time.

It’s these people who need to be at the heart of what we do and I welcome this opportunity to work closely with them, as well as experts, to oversee a cross-government suicide prevention plan, making their sure their views are always heard.

Responding to the new government funding announced today, Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland said:

We welcome the government’s announcement of funding towards Samaritans’ helpline, which will meet around 10 per cent of the total helpline costs for the next four years and help us to continue to provide our service free of charge.

Samaritans’ 20,000 volunteers are available at any time for anyone who is struggling to cope. We respond to more than five million requests for help a year.

This is an acknowledgement of the importance of our vital service.

Thank you Mr President and may I congratulate you on your Presidency and the US on theirs.

Let me start by thanking all of the committees for their work and for the Chairs for updating us on the implementation of these important resolutions. And in particular, I want to welcome the collaboration and joint working between the committees, as evidenced here today.

Firstly, let me address the work of Committees 1267 / 1989 / 2235 and 1373.

Mr President, no country is immune from the threat of terrorism, no region exempted from the threat which flows from the poisonous ideology which underpins it. Only through collaboration between countries within and between regions will we defeat the threat. We need a network of willing and capable countries to tackle the terrorist threat.

Now much is done bilaterally, the UN has a major role. Willingness to tackle the threat should of course be a matter of self-interest, but it also flows from binding Security Council resolutions and GA resolutions. And capability flows from the committees – from the Counter-Terrorism Committee, but also from C-TED, from UN-OCT, and for UN-CCT. And I welcome very much the joint working evidenced under the leadership of Under-Secretary-General Voronkov and Assistant Secretary-General Connix.

As identified in the Secretary-General’s report, the UK agrees that Da’esh has evolved from a territorial entity into a diffused and covert network which operates in a number of countries. Al-Qaida and its affiliates remain a persistent threat and challenge, and we are also facing threats to international peace and security from terrorist groups which have been inspired by Da’esh and Al-Qaida, in addition to others such as extreme right wing groups. Terrorist groups constantly change their methods and approaches, and we must be flexible and adaptable in our response.

As the Ambassador of Peru has said, it has been a feature of the threat in recent times to see the outflow of foreign terrorist fighters from many countries around this table. But as well as focussing on that, we must now focus on returnees to our countries, and re-locators to other theatres. We must not forget the foreign terrorist fighters currently in prison and others convicted of terrorism-related offenses, who may pose a threat both at home and abroad.

The UK wants to stress the important role that the private sector, academic researchers and civil societies can play in supporting Member States and UN bodies in countering terrorism and violent extremism. During the UK’s Presidency of the Security Council in August, we were pleased to invite a civil society briefer, Dr. Joana Cook, of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization in London, to share with the Council findings from their recent report on Da’esh women and minors, which enriched our understanding and discussion.

Mr President, I would like to stress that sanctions remain a key tool in combatting terrorism. We welcome the continued engagement and cooperation of all Council members in our international efforts to combat this threat. And I welcome the appointment of Mr Daniel Kipfer Fasciati as Ombudsperson.

The UK welcomes the ongoing efforts of the Counter Terrorism Committee and Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate to address a broad spectrum of issues raised by recent resolutions – in particular, 2396. As others have said, a global Passenger Name Record standard is needed and we welcome the UN-OCT ICAL project to promote its responsible use and recognize the generous support of the government of the Netherlands.

Furthermore, we continue to encourage states to move towards the implementation of the Global Aviation Security Plan.

In line with Security Council Resolution 2395, it is important that CTED assessment and analytical tools are updated and made fit for purpose, and that these inform the capacity-building activities of the UN – including UN-OCT – and its partners.

We are pleased to invite CTED to conduct a visit to the United Kingdom in 2019 and look forward to working with the Committee to share good practices and technical assistance needs. And I encourage other states also to work with C-TED to facilitate similar visits to their own country. We can all learn.

Mr President, moving on to the 1540 Committee, I would like to acknowledge the Committee’s achievements, particularly with the completion of initial reports and engagement with Committee working groups. We support the Chair and the Committee’s focus on practical steps to support implementation of the resolution, such as voluntary National Action Plans. We welcome the example set by Chile and Colombia in conducting a peer review of Resolution 1540 implementation and suggest the Committee encourages other countries to do likewise.

We acknowledge that the Committee has played a crucial role to enable the meaningful exchange of information between States, improving the matchmaking processes to better meet assistance needs and build long-term capacity.

Now it is time for the Committee to become more active and strategically consider new and emerging threats. In particular, we encourage the Committee to consider responses to topical counter-proliferation issues affecting 1540/2325 implementation, such as emerging technologies and proliferation finance, and consider the role of international organisations and multilateral fora in raising awareness of these issues and we hope the Committee will meet more often going forward.

We encourage the ongoing work to raise awareness and profile of UNSCR 1540.

Mr President, the effective implementation of these resolutions is important to protect hard fought global norms and the rules based international system.

Let us step up our efforts.

Thank you Cindy. It’s wonderful to be able to be here tonight.

I want to start by remembering the late Senator John McCain – a man whose whole life embodied the calling of service over self…

…who profoundly believed we have so much more in common with each other than in disagreement…

…and whose faith in our common humanity led him to speak out against the barbaric inhumanity of modern slavery.

Senator McCain was a true statesman – and I am proud to say, a great friend of our United Kingdom.

And I am deeply honoured to receive this award in his name this evening.

I also want to pay tribute to Cindy for your own long-standing work helping victims of modern slavery and helping to raise the profile of this terrible, abhorrent crime around the world.

Cindy – thank you for your inspirational leadership.

And let me also thank Vice President Biden and everyone here this evening who is supporting the work of the McCain Institute in fighting this absolutely hideous and hidden trade in humans.

As Senator McCain said – it is our duty to stop the victimization of all men, women and children.

And in honouring that duty tonight we are together taking on – what I believe is – the great human rights issue of our time.

One of the first victims of modern slavery I met, was a woman who had been taken as a child from Uganda and enslaved by a family in London.

Someone came to her village and promised her mother they could offer a better life.

The girl had never left the village before but she was put on a plane and she was brought here where she was taken into domestic servitude.

She was raped by the man of the house – and by his friends.

Then after several years, the family moved away and just left her abandoned on the streets of London.

I thought when I heard that story how can anybody treat another human being like that?

How can anybody think they can put another human being through that pain and suffering – and just use them as an object?

And how can these sorts of horrors be happening here in my country, now, in this century?

Yet today there are more than 40 million men, women and children suffering in modern slavery across the world, with between 10,000 and 13,000 in the UK alone.

That is why – first as Home Secretary and now as Prime Minister – I made tackling modern slavery a personal mission.

And it is why I want to work with you – and with partners all around the world – so that together we can say: we will not tolerate these crimes in our societies any longer.

We have made progress.

Here in the UK – a Modern Slavery Act, the first of its kind in the world, has created new powers to bring perpetrators to justice, with life sentences for the worst offenders.

Just last week we saw a drug dealer – who used three children from Birmingham to sell crack cocaine and heroin – jailed for 14 years after admitting charges of modern slavery.

We have new protections and support for victims – with more than a ten-fold increase in the number of potential victims being referred compared with a decade ago.

We have a world leading transparency requirement on business to eradicate modern slavery, including from their supply chains.

And as Prime Minister, I have established the first ever Taskforce on Modern Slavery to drive forward a coherent strategy across all departments and agencies.

But modern slavery is a global problem, it respects neither borders nor jurisdictions, and it requires a global response.

So the UK successfully advocated for eradicating modern slavery to be included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

We have increased our international development spending on fighting modern slavery and child exploitation from £75m to over £200m.

And at the United Nations last year we launched a Global Call to Action which has now been endorsed by more than 80 countries.

But there is more to do.

The organised criminals who perpetrate these abhorrent crimes are becoming ever more sophisticated in the methods they use.

And we must adapt as rapidly as the criminals we are working to stop.

In the UK, we have an independent review of our Modern Slavery Act which will strengthen it wherever needed to respond to the threat as it evolves.

And next week we will be launching the second round of our Modern Slavery Innovation Fund – with another £5 million to build the evidence base around new approaches to tackle modern slavery internationally.

But to be successful we must continue to raise awareness of these horrific crimes so everyone can play their part in exposing them.

So I welcome the brilliant work of organisations like the McCain Institute – from helping taxi drivers and airline pilots recognise the signs of modern slavery, to your pioneering initiative to raise awareness on our university campuses.

Ultimately, nothing is more powerful in raising that awareness than the stories of survivors.

It is the courage of survivors to speak out about these crimes that has made so much of our work possible.

It is when they speak out that we can expose their captors.

It is when they speak out that others suffering in the shadows can be found.

And it is when they speak out that the conscience of the world is roused to this great injustice.

So it is to the bravery of those survivors that I dedicate this award.

And to their hope for a better future that, together, we must reaffirm our resolve to end these abhorrent crimes and rid the world of this barbaric evil once and for all.

Thank you.

The Foreign Secretary has today spoken to his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, about the case of Jamal Khashoggi.

Mr Hunt stressed that if media reports from the weekend regarding Mr Khashoggi’s case prove correct, that would be extremely concerning and the UK will treat the incident very seriously – friendships depend on shared values.

Mr Hunt urged the Saudi Government to cooperate fully with the Turkish investigation into the case, and to provide further information as soon as possible.

The Foreign Secretary today also met the Saudi Ambassador to the UK to reiterate the need for urgent answers.