Before inviting the proposer of the motion to speak, the Mayor advised that Councillor Sarah Stephen would now be seconding the motion in Councillor Paul Stephen’s absence.

Councillor Nundy confirmed with Members they had all read the motion as set out in the Agenda, and he began by sharing that he had known many men who had died by suicide and spoke emotionally about how he felt when he received such news. He said the theme for International Mens’ Day this year was ‘Celebrating Men and Boys’ and said it was important to discuss the struggles that men and boys faced.  Councillor Nundy spoke about the toxic gender roles imposed on men by society and the stress these expectations caused.

Councillor Nundy informed Members that Swale ranked as the third highest borough in Kent for suicide rates, with an average of 12.8 suicides per 100,000 people and a rolling average of 18 to 20 men per 100,000 - above the national average, where men accounted for 75% of all suicide deaths. He noted that the reasons for the high rate among men were varied, but emphasized that men often did not talk about their feelings. 

Councillor Nundy said the motion asked the Council to acknowledge the crisis in our community and to urge the Government to do better. He highlighted the national support groups ‘The Campaign against Living Miserably’ and the Samaritans as well as local groups including MenTalk Health Swale and ‘Sheppey Dads’.

Finally, Councillor Nundy spoke of those in our community who had died by suicide, and he asked Members to support the motion.

In seconding the motion, Councillor Sarah Stephen spoke passionately about MenTalk and the support it had given to so many men in the borough, including setting up educational programmes, walking groups and art classes, as well as 24/7 chat support. She said MenTalk was a lifeline for many men and it had not lost a single man to suicide. Councillor Stephen said MenTalk were expanding onto the Isle of Sheppey with strong community backing from Sheppey Matters, Sheppey United Football Club and Sheppey Rugby Club. She added that they were also supported by the current Mayor of Faversham and the vicar of St. Mary of Charity Church, Faversham. Councillor Stephen asked for SBC’s help to work as a partnership and to identify billboard locations across the borough to use to display life-saving messages to reach those that needed it most.

Members were invited to speak and raised points including:

·         Was supportive of the core aims, particularly the commitment to destigmatising men’s mental health, promoting support services and calling for improved access to care from Government and the NHS ;

·         raised concern that paying tribute to those in our community who had tragically died by suicide was complex, and loved ones might not wish to be referenced in public or in a political forum;

·         should take care not to cause distress or appear to use tragedy symbolically;

·         gave examples of individuals who, after engaging in unlawful activities, subsequently ended their own lives and said those individuals should not be paid tribute;

·         needed to acknowledge the broader impact on suicide on our communities and reaffirm the commitment to prevention and support;

·         should be clear about what practical actions would follow when declaring a mental health crisis;

·         questioned whether there had been an increase in mental health issues or was society now more open to discussing it?;

·         awareness raising should be paired with clear pathways into services; and

·         welcomed the spirit of the motion and shared the desire to support men and boys in the community but more information was needed.

Councillor Mike Whiting proposed a minor amendment at points 4 and 5 in the motion:

4. To write to central government and Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Trust to urgently improve the doctor to patient ratio in Swale and to ensure better access to mental health services at the point of need.

5. To write to local schools to promote mental health awareness, particularly with boys.

The amendment was seconded by Councillor Mike Baldock.

Discussion that ensued on the amendment and points raised included:

·         It would have been more efficient to have a more thought out motion presented to Members;

·         raised concerns about writing to schools as more professional staff should be leading on childhood mental health;

·         referred to mental health issues for those not in schools and did not receive the professional support that schools provided; and

·         said the Government were currently looking at a men’s health strategy, using schools to educate and breakdown stereotypes.

The seconder of the amendment reminded Members that the amendment was seeking the Leader to write to Central Government and the appropriate influential bodies, including schools to inform them of services that were available and to act.

The proposer and seconder of the substantive motion supported the amendment.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was agreed.

Members continued to discuss the motion and made points including:

·         Praised and gave their personal experience as a service user of MenTalk;

·         would like to have seen more facts and figures before declaring a mental health crisis;

·         there were problems accessing mental health services but did not agree there was a mental health crisis;

·         women between the ages of 16 and 24 were almost three times as likely to experience a common mental health issue as men of the same age, rates of self-harm had tripled since 1993 and women were 10% more likely to attempt suicide than men;

·         it was appropriate to talk about men only as it was International Mens Day;

·         International Mens Day gave the opportunity to celebrate the positive contributions of men and boys in the community, as well as to be honest about the mental health challenges so many faced;

·         everyone needed to work together to tackle the stigma of mental health;

·         praised the charitable organisations that supported those with mental health challenges, giving particular praise to the Men Shed at the Psychic Garden in Faversham;

·         the motion was compassionate and practical;

·         men spoke less openly about their struggles with mental health;

·         receiving early assessments was key;

·         raised the issue of support for those that relapsed;

·         spoke of other service providers, such as housing providers, also having a responsibility for vulnerable residents with mental health issues;

·         the motion needed to have a practical impact to support;

·         SBC should be actively promoting the support services available to residents in Swale’s public and private online spaces;

·         SBC needed to consider its own social responsibility for mental health when employing staff;

·         health authorities needed to do more;

·         highlighted to Members that dialling 111 had a mental health crisis option and for those in a severe mental health crisis should choose option 2 after dialling;

·         there had been an increase in mental health issues, particularly in young people, some of which arose from the Internet and some was the polarisation of society;

·         schools were often the first port of call for young people to access mental health support;

·         spoke of the pressure on children in schools from social media;

·         said that everyone in the community should have been included in the motion, not just men;

·         there was a higher than average issue with mental ill health in Swale;

·         the motion was the right length, if more detail had been added, Members might suggest it was too long; and

·         SBC needed to lead on supporting those with mental health issues.

A Member sought an alteration to point 6 of the motion to:

“6. Pay tribute to those in our community……”

The original proposer and seconder of the motion accepted the alteration.

In summing up, Councillor Nundy reminded Members it was International Mens Day and he said he had not suggested that mental health issues did not affect woman. He said the motion sought a generic, not individual, tribute to those who had taken their own lives, and to raise awareness. Councillor Nundy said there was a national mental health crisis and he confirmed the statistics he quoted earlier in the debate.  He said the motion was about standing with the community and showing SBC understood the severity of mental health issues and letting men and boys know that it was OK to be upset, and encouraging men to seek the support that was available.

In accordance with Procedure Rule 3.1.19(2), a recorded vote was taken and voting was as follows:

For: Councillors Gould, Shiel, Wooster, Whiting, Marchington, Cheeseman, Nundy, Eyre, Wise, Miller, Jayes, Watson, Bonney, Clark, Winckless, B J Martin, C Palmer, Perkin, Last, R Palmer, Mischuk, Neal, Thompson, Carnell, Hunt, Moore, Baldock, MacDonald, S Stephen and T Gibson. Total equals 30.

Against: Councillor Speed, Harrison, Brawn and Cavanagh. Total equals 4.

Abstain: Councillors Bowen, Booth, Noe and Jackson. Total equals 4.

The Mayor announced the motion was carried.