Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt today (31 July 2017) launched a plan to expand the mental health workforce. The plan sets out measures to tackle the ‘historic imbalance’ in workforce capacity and fulfil ambitions to improve mental health services.

The government committed £1.3 billion to transform mental health services, with a pledge to:

• treat an extra 1 million patients by 2020 to 2021
• provide services 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
• integrate mental and physical health services for the first time

The plan has been developed by Health Education England (HEE) together with NHS Improvement, NHS England, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other key mental health experts.

It shows how the health service will dramatically increase the number of trained nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, peer support workers and other mental health professionals to deliver on this commitment and tackle the ‘burning injustice’ of mental illness and inadequate treatment.

By 2020 to 2021 local areas will need to create 21,000 new posts in priority growth areas to deliver the improvements in services and support set out in the NHS’s Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

We want people with mental health conditions to receive better treatment, and part of that means having the right NHS staff. We know we need to do much more to attract, retain and support the mental health workforce of the future. Today is the first step to address this historic imbalance in workforce planning.

As we embark on one of the biggest expansions of mental health services in Europe it is crucial we have the right people in post – that’s why we’re supporting those already in the profession to stay and giving incentives to those considering a career in mental health.

These measures are ambitious but essential for delivering the high performing and well-resourced mental health services we all want to see.

All major specialisms will see an expansion in numbers, with the plan targeting areas where there are forecast to be particular shortfalls as demand on services increases. It concludes that there should be:

• 2,000 additional nurses, consultants and therapist posts created in child and adolescent mental health services
• 2,900 additional therapists and other allied health professionals supporting expanded access to adult talking therapies
• 4,800 additional posts for nurses and therapists working in crisis care settings, with the majority of these (4,600) being nursing positions

Perinatal mental health support, liaison and diversion teams and early intervention teams working with people at risk of psychosis should also see significant increases.

Among the groups expected to grow most in the planned expansion are:

• professionals working in child and adolescent mental health services
• therapists delivering expanded access to adult talking therapies
• nurses working in crisis care settings

It will be funded in part by the government’s commitment to an extra £1 billion for mental health services by 2020 to 2021.

To achieve this, the measures set out in the plan include:

• improvements in how employers retain their existing mental health staff, including targeted support for 20 Trusts with the highest rates of clinical staff exits – alongside a national retention programme to be run by NHS Employers and initiatives to improve career pathways

• a major “Return to Practice” campaign led by HEE to encourage some of the 4,000 psychiatrists and 30,000 trained mental health nurses not substantively employed by the NHS to return to the profession. NHS Employers will also work with providers to develop more flexible and supportive working environments and help more of them to draw on the skills of recent retirees

• a new action plan to attract more clinicians to work in mental health services and psychiatry, including a targeted campaign next year to encourage more trainees to specialise in mental health, as well as encouraging more junior doctors to experience psychiatry as part of their foundation training – either through a new ‘2-week’ taster programme, or through increased availability of rotation placements in psychiatry

• the development and expansion of new professional roles in mental health to help create more flexible teams and boost capacity, enabling clinical staff to spend more face-to-face time with patients, by providing more support staff to take on the non-clinical tasks – for example updating patient records

• co-ordinated action to tackle the high attrition rates among psychiatry trainees, with the Royal College of Psychiatrists working with higher education institutions to improve on-the-job training and support, encourage greater flexibility and develop a new Accelerated Return to Training programme for those who have abandoned training previously

• the plan also pledges action to improve the mental health and resilience of its own workforce; HEE will deliver a programme to improve awareness of mental health amongst NHS staff, including encouraging more GPs to undertake further formal training in psychiatry; HEE will also explore how to support Trusts in recruiting and training staff from abroad to meet short-term recruitment needs

Professor Ian Cumming, Chief Executive, Health Education England said:

Mental health is a key priority for HEE. The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health laid out an ambition to see an additional one million people being treated by mental health services by 2021, including 70,000 more children and young people. This is something the whole system is committed to working on to make sure patients get the best possible care.

The workforce plan we have agreed with our partners across the system is based on the most comprehensive and robust study of the mental health workforce to date. We do not underestimate the scale of this challenge. To deliver the improvements we have said are required will require concerted action and focus from everyone working across the health and care system – this document lays out a plan to create that workforce.

I am confident that the NHS can rise to this challenge and that this plan is a significant step to make the improvements to care we all know are needed a reality.

This Annual Report provides information on the branch’s activities during 2016.

The battle in Flanders began on 31 July 1917 and was a major engagement in the First World War, claiming the lives of around 275,000 British and Commonwealth military personnel and around 200,000 German lives.

Sir Michael Fallon joined Prime Minister Theresa May, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The King and Queen of Belgium and other dignitaries last night for the playing of the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. Music and readings were added to the traditional nightly service which has happened for over 90 years.

The UK Government, in collaboration with the Belgian Government, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and the Royal British Legion is hosting a series of events to mark one of the defining battles of the First World War. The Chief of the Defence Staff, Joint Force Commander and heads of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force are in Belgium, where today visitors will gather to pay their respects at Tyne Cot cemetery near the village of Passchendaele. It is the largest Commonwealth War Grave in the world.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

These services provide us with the time to reflect on the sacrifice not just of the thousands of British and Commonwealth troops who gave their lives, but of the men on all sides who did not return home. This was a battle which touched communities across Europe and it is a privilege to be here in Belgium to stand as friends with the representatives of all the countries who took part in the Battle – friends who continue to be strong allies.

Members of the UK Armed Forces took part in the event with the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Irish Regiment and The Band of the Welsh Guards providing music. The bands will also take part in an evening light show where images from the War will be projected onto the town’s Cloth Hall.

The Menin Gate is one of four memorials to the missing which covers the area known as the Ypres Salient. The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields. It bears the names of more than 54,000 casualties from the forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and United Kingdom who died in the Salient whose graves are not known.

The full programme of commemorative events includes:

30 July: A traditional Last Post ceremony at dusk at the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium.

30 July: Sunset Ceremony at the Cloth Hall, Ypres Light projections onto the Cloth Hall in the Market Square will provide the backdrop to an evening of storytelling and music about the experience of soldiers during four years of war on the Ypres Salient

31 July: A ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Tyne Cot Cemetery will take place on 31 July

31 July: A Welsh National Service of Remembrance will take place at the Welsh Memorial in Langemark.

Over the last year, consumer protection agencies around the globe have worked together to prevent false or misleading reviews and endorsements online, and promote new guidelines to help review sites, digital influencers, marketing professionals and other traders understand what they should do to operate fairly.

The CMA’s 2015/16 Presidency of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) focused on improving practices in this area, and since then a range of action has been taken worldwide.

This has seen at least 16 enforcement cases, including one preventing a US business using deceptive online reviews that had been posted by its own employees, and another obtaining commitments from 4 Norwegian online newspapers to ensure that marketing messages are clearly distinguishable from editorial content. Another case, currently before the Australian Federal Court, seeks to stop a property services company from trying to block guests it suspects would leave a negative review on TripAdvisor from receiving the email inviting their feedback.

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recent cases include requiring a retailer to disclose unfavourable reviews so that customers have the complete picture, and ensuring that a marketing firm clearly identifies when reviews posted online by social media celebrities are advertising. It has also recently secured improvements to Airbnb’s review system so that guests can more easily leave feedback where they have chosen to cut short their stay in a property.

International enforcement efforts have been supported by a global awareness-raising campaign to drive up standards, in the form of guidelines for businesses and digital influencers involved in arranging, managing or posting online reviews or endorsements. The launch of today’s social media campaign continues ICPEN’s commitment to increase compliance in this area.

Nisha Arora, CMA Senior Director and former ICPEN President, said:

Shoppers worldwide are increasingly relying on online reviews and endorsements before they make a decision to buy a product or service. People need to know they can trust the information they find online, and make informed choices as a result.

By working together with international consumer protection partners, whether in providing clearer guidelines or taking enforcement action against businesses that flout the law, we can achieve greater impact and better outcomes for consumers across the globe.

Notes to editors

1. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law. For more information on the CMA see our homepage or follow us on Twitter @CMAgovuk, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Flickr.
2. ICPEN is an informal network of consumer protection law enforcement authorities representing over 60 global economies. It provides a forum where authorities can share information and work to combat consumer problems which arise with cross-border transactions in goods and services, such as e-commerce.
3. For more information visit www.icpen.org.
4. For ICPEN’s guidelines and examples of members’ activities on online reviews and endorsements, see https://www.icpen.org/initiatives.
5. For past CMA actions on online reviews and endorsements, see https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/online-reviews-and-endorsements.
6. Enquiries should be directed to Beatrice Cole (beatrice.cole@cma.gsi.gov.uk, 020 3738 6472).

Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am honoured to be here at the Hargeisa International Book Fair on this, my first visit to Somaliland. It is a privilege to address this vibrant, outward-looking and thought-provoking gathering. I congratulate Dr Musse Jama and Ms Ayan Mahmoud on driving this festival from its inception nine years ago to the internationally celebrated fixture it is today and thank them for offering me this opportunity to reaffirm British support for the event.

As we meet at this festival of Somali poetry, influence and ideas, it is right to remember the severe and ongoing drought afflicting the people of Somaliland. To help those most affected, the UK has increased its emergency aid to over $200m. This support has so far provided safe drinking water and food to some one million people and emergency healthcare to nearly half a million people, including tens of thousands of Somalilanders. I will shortly be seeing some of this work for myself.

Our purpose today is to appreciate the global impact of the Somali cultural heritage and, prompted by the theme of connectivity, I salute the longstanding diaspora and historic ties that bind Somaliland and the UK. The many Somalis in Britain with roots in Somaliland are making a huge contribution to security, democracy and prosperity here in Somaliland. They are also supporting social integration and cohesion in the UK.

In turn, the UK commitment to you, the people of Somaliland, is steadfast. We are the largest international donor to Somaliland. Together with your government and in partnership with many of you, we are helping to improve healthcare, education and other essential services, as well as advocating the full participation of women in public life.

The great Hadraawi, who you will recall spent part of his life in London, observed ‘How good it would be to reason clearly, to settle the world into peace, preserve it within its proper bounds’. Thanks to the institutions of democracy we are able to do just that. You have the opportunity this autumn to reinforce Somaliland’s reputation as a beacon of democracy with a fourth presidential election.

The UK is pleased to support your independent electoral institution in its efforts to oversee a fair electoral contest. Besides contributing to the registration of voters, the UK is deploying a team of 60 independent election observers to give an impartial view of the election process. Some of them are already here.

But a functioning democratic system is about much more than casting ballots. It is underpinned by rights and institutions. Democracy depends on the media, academics and publishing houses sharing the information we need to develop and inform critical thinking. Our theme of connectivity reminds us that the internet is a rich seam of information. The November election offers you, the voter, the opportunity to speak your mind and influence decisions to shape your future and that of your children. Journalists have a critical role to play in enabling us to determine how to vote. That is why we support reporters, advocate effective media regulation and champion free speech.

Democracy depends also on the rule of law. In Britain, over 800 years ago, the Magna Carta established the principle that all subjects, including the king, were subject to the rule of law and had a right to a fair trial. That notion remains fundamental to democracies around the world and nurtures the equality we all cherish. In support of the rule of law, we are working with your judges to help ensure any disputes arising from the election are settled swiftly, fairly and in accordance with the law.

‘If’, as Aristotle said, ‘Liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost’. To quote the motto of the first Hargeisa International Book Fair ‘Freedom is not for free’. It is incumbent on us all to use opportunities such as this to debate the issues that matter to us, to seek and respect the views of others, and to vote. Democracy is not something that is done. It is something we do.

Your staging of a fair, transparent and timely election, your participation in it and your acceptance of the outcome will help sustain the stability of which you are rightly proud. Beyond the election, the UK looks forward to continuing to support you, the people of Somaliland, as your build on your achievements of recent decades so everyone here gets the education, healthcare and opportunities they crave whatever their heritage, wherever they live. I am confident that, with the support of the diaspora and your many friends, you, the people of Somaliland can fulfil your tremendous potential to prosper in a way that benefits of every man, woman and child here.

Thank you