Mental health problems are on the increase, with a rising demand on services and increasing complexity of need. This was happening before COVID-19, but the pandemic has undoubtedly made the situation worse. Local government makes a vital contribution to promoting good mental health and need to continue to invest in this to ensure good mental health in their communities.
The LGA measures resident satisfaction with councils every three to four months. This report presents the results of the thirtieth round of polling conducted in October 2021.
The Equality Framework has been updated to reflect the latest legislation affecting equality such as Gender Pay Gap reporting, the changing context of the local government sector and equality in Britain as well as in response to other significant issues that might affect equality including the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, the increased focus on race equality as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement and the health inequities highlighted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
This Must Know includes examples of health and care systems that have focused on developing strong partnerships both across the system at integrated care systems (ICS) level and in place-based partnerships and updates the 2020 Must Know on integration.
The following case studies stand as examples of good practice, success stories and promising initiatives in supporting young people with their mental health.
The coming year will be a huge challenge for local government as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilds lives and livelihoods. As we learn to live with the virus, it will be councils who lead their communities through every aspect of that recovery.
Local democracy is strongest when there are high levels of civic representation, where citizens voices are heard and taken into account in local decision-making.