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Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing

The Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing () is a minister of the Welsh Government, accountable to the cabinet secretary for health and social care. 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 Sarah Murphy since July 2024.

Ministers

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.

Since becoming a junior post in 2021, the responsibilities of the post are:

  • Some public health responsibilities, specifically;
  • The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, screening and vaccination.
  • Services for Health improvement and wellbeing
  • 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. The post-holder also announced in 2023, funding arrangements for Trading Standards Wales, concerning illegal electronic cigarettes, and online therapy services overseen by Powys Teaching Health Board in 2022.

See also

References