(a) Moved by Councillor Shields
“This Council notes the alarming consequences of the cost-of-living crisis, which has already seen many individuals and families in Southampton struggling to eat and is set to get worse.
This Council welcomes the Labour administration co-convening a Southampton Cost of Living summit this October and requests that it looks to work with organisations, businesses, and other bodies across the city to find practical ways to support residents in greatest need.
This Council agrees that a key objective should be an end to food poverty in our city and we therefore commit to:
1. Join other cities across the UK, including nearby Portsmouth, to declare Southampton a Right to Food City
2. Build on the City Council’s child obesity strategy by taking steps to support community kitchens and other local healthy food initiatives
3. Designate a lead member for food poverty in Southampton to act as a champion and coordinate cross-party and multi-agency efforts
This Council further calls on the city’s three MPs to press our new prime minister to adopt and pursue Government policies that ensure a comprehensive and meaningful response to the wider cost of living crisis.”
(b) Moved by Councillor Guthrie
Southampton City Council notes that 1 in 4 adults and one child in six will experience a mental health problem in any year, mental ill health costs some £119 billion each year in England alone. Southampton has higher proportions of GP registered patients with deprivation and severe mental illness than the England average, risk factors linked to poor mental health can include deprivation, poor physical health, loneliness, lack of social interaction and a range of other individual factors including social relationships. People with severe mental illness in England die on average 15-20 years earlier than the general population and timely diagnosis, treatment and support can improve long term health and wellbeing. The Covid-19 pandemic and the current pressure on the cost of living has put extra strain on people’s mental health, and this is likely to last for some time after.
This council believes as a local authority we have a crucial role to play in improving the mental health of everyone in our community and tackling some of the widest and most entrenched inequalities in health. Mental health should be a priority across all the local authority’s areas of responsibility. All councillors, whether members of the Executive or Scrutiny and in our community and casework roles, can play a positive role in championing mental health on an individual and strategic basis.
This council resolves to sign the Local Authorities’ Mental Health Challenge run by Centre for Mental Health, we have and will continue to commit to appointing an elected member as ‘mental health champion’ across the council. We will support the member champions to enable them to take on this role.
The council will also continue to support positive mental health in our community, including in local schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces and continue to work on reducing inequalities in mental health in our community. We will continue to work with local partners as a member of the Integrated Care System to offer effective support for people with mental health needs and tackle discrimination on the grounds of mental health in our community. We will proactively listen to people of all ages and backgrounds about what they need for better mental health.