Amplifying our voice

We have been consistently raising the issue of NHS staff mental health and wellbeing services, so it was disappointing to see that there was no mention of funding for this vital lifeline for health and social care staff.

The ongoing workforce crisis within the NHS, highlighted by the worrying latest figures on sickness absence, really hammers home how much of a missed opportunity this is. The situation will only continue to become even more concerning unless long-term funding is provided for mental health and wellbeing support for hard-working staff.

One aspect of the Autumn Statement that has hit the headlines is the announcement that there will be tougher benefit restrictions on people who cannot work due to long-term mental health conditions and disabilities.

We are far from the only charity or health organisation which has expressed real concern about this, and for good reason – evidence shows that the threat of sanctions does not work, and this announcement will have created genuine fear for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

You can read our full response to the Autumn Statement, including comments from our President-Elect Dr Roman Raczka, on the BPS website.

If you're interested in finding out more about our opposition to proposals to introduce further benefits sanctions, we also set out a detailed response to the launch of the government's new 'Back to Work' plan.

While there were some more promising elements to this, including the commitment to further invest in NHS Talking Therapies to help claimants struggling with their mental health, we are clear that the threat of sanctions will do nothing to break the vicious cycle of poverty and mental health difficulties.

The Autumn Statement was not the only important date in politics this month, with the King's Speech having set out some of the upcoming legislative agenda.

It was extremely frustrating to see that there was no commitment to bring forward bills on two key areas of focus for us – banning conversion therapy and reforming the Mental Health Act.

We will continue to make sure our view is heard on all these issues, and campaign for evidence-based psychological thinking to be at the heart of decision making.

Finally, I want to reflect on a successful second edition of our Psychology Careers Festival, which saw 2,800 psychologists of the future join us for a week of talks, sessions and discussions on our innovative online platform.

This doubled the reach of the first event, held last year, and I hope that anyone who joined us for it left inspired and enthused, and that you will go on to have a long and successful career in our discipline.