Opinion: ‘Your concern about mental health’

I was fortunate enough to be drawn for Prime Minister’s Questions this week. So I asked the people of Peterborough what they would ask.

Over 200 of you filled in the questionnaire on my website. Many more sent emails and others sent questions through Facebook.

A clear theme emerged. People are concerned about their mental health. While they recognise the need for lockdown because of the new variant of COVID-19, there are many negatives.

We are social animals. Right now, we can’t touch or see our family and friends. This concern makes sense.

Exercise is also important for our mental health. At the moment, gyms can’t open and team sports are impossible.

Many people are anxious about job losses and business failure. Nor does everyone have a happy situation at home. Domestic violence and alcohol abuse are even more worrying during lockdown.

My own concern was heightened by a mental health summit on Monday, organised by Peterborough Citizens and students from Peterborough schools. These local young people had made a huge effort.

They made me incredibly proud, but it was clear that school closures and stress are having a profound impact on their wellbeing. Young people in our city need our support.

I am relentlessly positive about the future of Peterborough. The end of lockdown is in sight with the vaccine rollout. But few things are as important as our mental health - and this has taken a hit.

That’s why I am so pleased the Government are putting record sums into mental health. We spent over £13 billion in 2019/20 and are adding an extra £2.3 billion a year.

This will help. If spent wisely, it could transform services in Peterborough. We need to speed up referrals, make services more accessible and remove the stigma attached to mental health.

Charities and volunteer groups already do a marvellous job in Peterborough. We have Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind, the Samaritans and many smaller groups.

There is a growing understanding of the importance of mental health. Peterborough company BGL even donated £40,000 to the Samaritans to help during the pandemic.

Obviously, mental health wasn’t the only topic that people suggested. There were questions on vaccine rollout, on helping businesses and protect jobs, on schools returning, and a whole variety of topics.

It may take a few days, but I have promised to get back to everyone who offered a suggestion (or at least those that were made in the spirit of the initiative!).

I found it was a really interesting experiment in direct democracy. At the right moments, it’s one I will repeat in future.

MPs should use their ears as much as they use their mouths. I try my best to listen and show empathy. I’ll leave it others to decide how well I am doing, but I do try.

And when we talk about “building back better” after the pandemic, yes, it does mean the £23 million from the Towns Fund to regenerate our city and create the new University and research hub. Yes, it means more high-paid jobs in manufacturing, engineering, science and technology.

But it also means supporting people. Society and the economy aren’t separate things. If lockdowns have brought mental health into focus, that is one positive.