What action will the Welsh Government take over the next twelve months to highlight and tackle mental health challenges in the Welsh agricultural industry?
We will continue to invest in open access support with the aim of preventing those with a mental health related need requiring specialist care but also supporting people while they wait for intervention to start.
From 2021/22 we have provided an additional £1.4m of recurring funding, £200,000 to each health board, to commission directly with the third sector for the delivery of mental health support.
At a national level we have also supported delivery of online cognitive behavioural therapy, access to Reading Well, a prescriptive reading service and the CALL Mental Health Helpline for Wales. We have also developed 111 press 2 for urgent mental health support which is available across Wales on a 24/7 basis.
We are currently developing our successor mental health and suicide and self-harm strategies, which will be out to consultation shortly.
The DPJ Foundation has been awarded a Bereavement Support Grant of £52,135 for the three-year period between 2021-24, to improve the provision of bereavement support to the agricultural community.
We also support several important activities to aid mental health in rural communities, such as the Farm Support Group which brings together farming charities, to share knowledge and expertise and to provide a strong coordinated position on mental health support for the agriculture sector in Wales.
My officials are in discussion with the Farm Support Group about future priorities and funding proposals which will be carefully considered in the current budget context.