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Social exclusion minister Barbara Roche launched a new consultation on employment and inclusion for people with mental health problems, writes Ruth Winchester.

Delegates at the Community Care Live conference heard that mental health was to one of the “major new projects for the social exclusion unit”.

The SEU consultation, which closes on the 5 September, is asking for feedback from professionals, service users, the community and businesses on the best way to enable people with mental health problems to get back into paid employment. The consultation’s results would, Roche said, “build on the new deal for disabled people and the national service framework for mental health”.

An allied theme is how the same client group can get better access to other services such as leisure and education and regain involvement in the life of local community.

“We know that one in six adults suffer from a mental health problem at some point, and that they can find it very hard to find and retain jobs,” Roche told delegates. “We also know that many people also end up being excluded from other services in the community. And that the stigma attached to diagnosis can sometimes be more disabling than the illness itself.