New mental health initiative unveiled by LLEP

THE Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership Ltd (LLEP) has announced a new mental health initiative.

The Mental Health Productivity Pilot (MHPP) is a three-year programme set up to support employers across Leicester and Leicestershire and the wider Midlands region.

The impact of the coronavirus crisis on people’s mental health is projected to exacerbate issues. To address the issue, the LLEP is one of nine LEPs to participate in the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot programme. The MHPP is funded by a £6.8m Midlands Engine grant and is designed to support employers to provide working environments that are conducive to good mental health.

Working with employers of all sizes and from different sectors across Leicester and Leicestershire, the MHPP will create and test a range of existing and new interventions for improving mental health. ’Interventions’ are small adjustments that employers can make to ensure that their workers are able to thrive in the workplace.

The MHPP website has toolkits and information for employers looking to make changes in the workplace. These can be found at www.mhpp.me/ employers.

The LLEP will help to engage employers in Leicestershire and encourage them to participate in the MHPP programme.

At the end of the three-year pilot MHPP it will assess the impact of these interventions and make recommendations to Midlands Engine for those which are proven to make a difference to employee mental health and productivity, and which could potentially be upscaled across the country.

Kevin Harris is Chair of the LLEP Board of Directors. He said: “There is increasing recognition that good mental health is just as important as good physical health. In these trying times and with the need to adapt to new ways of living, working and socialising, all of us should consider what we can do to protect our mental health.”

The evaluation of the project will conclude in June 2022.