The Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley published No Health without Mental Health: A Cross-Government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages for England on the 2nd February 2011.

At least one in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our life, and around half of people with lifetime mental health problems experience their first symptoms before the age of 14.

The Government’s new approach is based on the principles that have been laid down for all its health reforms.This strategy builds on that knowledge and the Government is investing around £400 million over four years on psychological therapies to support people who need them across England.

In all, this strategy captures this Government’s ambitious aim to mainstream mental health in England and their commitments include:

• making mental health a key priority for Public Health England, the new national public health service;
• agree and use a new national measure of well-being
• ensure that mental health remains high on the Government’s agenda by asking the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Public Health to oversee the strategy at national level
• challenge stigma by supporting and working actively with the “Time to Change” programme.

You can read No Health without Mental Health on the Department of Health’s website: www.dh.gov.uk