Welsh Government minister
The Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing (Welsh: Y Dirprwy Weinidog Iechyd Meddwl a Llesiant) is a deputy minister of the Welsh Government, accountable to the cabinet minister for health and social services. Established as a cabinet position in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, it was moved to a junior position in 2021. The current officeholder is Lynne Neagle since May 2021.
Responsibilities
When the post was created as a cabinet post in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, its responsibilities were stated to include at the time to be; mental health services, patient experience, substance misuse, dementia, veterans' health, and the obesity strategy of Wales.[4]
Since becoming a junior post in 2021, the responsibilities of the post are:[3]
- Some public health responsibilities, specifically;
- Delivery and performance of NHS Wales
- Escalation procedures
- Responsibility in managing reports from Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, such as keeping a receipt of, responding to, and managing the direction of their reports.
- Overseeing the Welsh Government's relationship with Audit Wales in matters relating to the NHS.
- The training and development of the medical workforce, excluding the higher education years 1-5 of Doctors
- Health and social care research and development
- Digital health and health innovation
- Mental health services
- Suicide prevention
- Dementia
- Autism
- Gambling problem-related health impacts
- Substance misuse
- Health of the armed forces and veterans
- Strategy for Obesity
- Food Standards Agency in Wales, including food safety
- Genetically modified food (but not genetically modified crops)
- Experience of patients, their involvement, and the citizens' voices
- Safeguarding
- Services for Adoption and Foster care
- Advocacy services for children and young people's, such as managing complains, representations, as well as advocacy, under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
- Sharing information under the Children Act 2004
- Cafcass Cymru
- Overseeing and deciding policy regarding social service provision of activities by the local authorities in Wales, including issuing statutory guidance
- Overseeing Social Care Wales
- Regulating domiciliary, residential, adult placements, foster care, under 8's care provision and private healthcare
- Inspecting and reporting the provision of social services by the local authorities in Wales, through the Care Inspectorate Wales, including jointly reviewing social services and responding to any reports
- The rights and entitlements of children and young people, including utilising the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Early years, childcare and play, including the "childcare offer" and its workforce
- Early childhood education and care
- Flying Start for children aged 0–3 years
- Policies for Families First and play
The post-holder launched the "National Framework for Social Prescribing" in December 2023, aiming for the consistent delivery of social prescribing.[5][6] The post-holder also announced in 2023, funding arrangements for Trading Standards Wales, concerning illegal electronic cigarettes,[7] and online therapy services overseen by Powys Teaching Health Board in 2022.[8]
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