By Councillor Paul Kelly, COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson

It’s likely that when thinking about mental health and wellbeing the role of Local Government doesn’t immediately spring to mind.

Our first thoughts are often of mental health as a clinical need, of GP referrals and unfortunately in recent years, perhaps of long waiting lists for diagnosis.

However, our understanding of mental health and wellbeing is rightly changing, recognising that whilst some people need clinical support, others manage challenges to mental health best themselves, with the support of friends, peers or less formal mental health support outside of clinical settings - with the type of support someone might need varying across their lifespan. We also know there is a lot we can do to stop mental health issues occurring or worsening.

Support for mental health is increasingly seen through a public health prevention lens where primary prevention invests in the building blocks of health to stop problems happening in the first place, secondary prevention takes action to identify and respond to early signs of a problem to prevent escalation and reduce levels of harm and tertiary prevention means taking action once there is an issue to stop it from getting worse, or recurring in the future. Local Government can play a key role across this spectrum.

We work across the social determinants of mental health like poverty, employment and housing, where an individual’s experiences can significantly impact their wellbeing and help create environments where people can thrive, for example in the maintaining green spaces, the provision of sports and leisure activities, which support both physical health and meaningful connections with others, and the creation of nurturing school environments. We continue to advocate strongly for the benefits of resourcing action on the social determinants of health.

Local authorities provide a range of direct mental health and wellbeing support for people requiring early intervention or further support with their mental health but who do not require the support of specialist provision within health services, though local authority support may also be provided alongside this. Whilst need may not meet clinical criteria it can be significant, including but not limited to trauma, bereavement, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, distress, body image and eating issues. Examples of direct mental health support provided by local authorities include school counselling and digital mental health support

Our role as one of the largest employers in Scotland also provides us with an opportunity to support mental health and wellbeing as we seek to ensure that our staff have access to the best training and support possible – able to help those they interact with in appropriate trauma informed way- and able to access appropriate help themselves whenever it might be needed.

Local Government clearly are not the only part of the system required to support mental health and wellbeing but are an important part of it. The role of the NHS remains fundamental and in considering the mental health of our communities we often work in close partnership with colleagues in the third sector who provide invaluable support for those who need it.

We also know the whole system collectively remains under significant pressure with resources to deliver the services we know make a difference and staff available to deliver them at a premium.

Recognising all of the above COSLA and Scottish Government have approached action on mental health in partnership for a number of years. We jointly published the joint Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy in 2023, and I am delighted that we have just put forward the second version of plans to progress the strategy together seeking to build on and promote collaborative work across the system to support the mental health and wellbeing of our communities.