PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(19 May 2025)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage (a) vets and (b) other people who interact with farmers to be trained on signposting farmers to health and support services.

Asked by:
Sir Julian Smith (Conservative)

Defra funds the Farmer Welfare Grant. This funds charities to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by The Farmer Network, is delivering mental health first aid training to agricultural communities in the North of England, including Yorkshire. Recipients of this training, including farmers and farm businesses, reported a 100% increase in their knowledge and confidence of talking about mental health following this training.

Defra has set up a dedicated team to address the particular set of issues driving poor mental health outcomes in the farming and agricultural sector. One of the team’s top aims is to. improve awareness of mental health in frontline staff and ensuring frontline Defra staff are appropriately trained to deal with vulnerable customers.

Defra’s Farming and Countryside representatives were all provided training on the issue of mental health in the sector by the charity “We Are Farming Minds” facilitated by Mind in May 2025. This was in readiness for extensive outreach activity attending agricultural shows and auction marts.

Answered by:
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