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My hon.
Friend is right to say that there is increasing focus, certainly in
Government, on well-being and mental health. If we are to tackle some
of the basic problems, it is important to consider how mental health
issues can affect different parts of society. We
have talked about issues in men’s mental health, but as my hon.
Friend said, there are additional mental health issues in respect of
people from black and minority ethnic
communities.
If we are to tackle the overall issues in dealing with mental health problems and mental well-being, it is vital to ask why certain groups suffer disproportionately and why some people do not come forward and access services. I was pleased that there was a national men’s health week and that the Men’s Health Forum put together a conference on mental health where the “Brain Manual” was launched. I am delighted that the Department was able to support it. I spoke at the conference and I was incredibly impressed by people’s commitment and dedication in raising the issue, and I asked for feedback from the conference.
We want to look in even more detail at other comments, but one issue, especially, that was raised was that of opening hours for GPs’ surgeries, as men find it difficult to take time off work to go to the GP. We must ask whether there is a barrier at that first stage and find out how to make it easier for people to gain access to health care services.
My hon. Friend set out some of the very real challenges in men’s mental health and drew attention to some shocking statistics: three-quarters of those who kill themselves are men; 73 per cent. of adults who go missing are men. Too high a proportion of men suffer from mental health problems, and instead of seeking help they are more likely to turn to drugs, alcohol and smoking to try to alleviate those problems.
It is important to raise awareness of men’s mental health problems and to have programmes to tackle in a broader sense some of the stigma and discrimination that goes with mental health in general, but especially in men who perhaps feel that they have some kind of weakness that cannot be talked about. How do we overcome that and say, “No, this is a common health problem that we need to be open about”? People should not feel stigmatised if they have to seek help.
As my hon. Friend said, we must assist men to acknowledge mental health problems and encourage them to seek help and support. The conference had the support of the Football Association, which appointed Tony Adams as its ambassador with specific responsibility for mental health. That will promote mental health issues positively. Too often, coverage of such issues is completely negative. We have to talk about the positive aspects of the services available and the advantages of coming forward and, with the Football Association, emphasise the importance of physical exercise in helping mental health problems, and in particular reducing the stress that my hon. Friend talked about.
The Department has set up the shift programme to help to tackle the way in which the media and the wider public approach and perceive mental health issues. It is heartbreaking sometimes to see how the media deal with some of these issues. Sometimes they do so in a deeply unsympathetic way. We have to bring home to people the fact that mental health problems are a common health problem and it is important that they are approached constructively and positively. We also want to develop an anti-stigma code that can be adopted by employers.
Creating an understanding of mental health issues and promoting mental well-being are vital. As my hon. Friend said, the Men’s Health Forum’s policy report considered six aspects of that. It may be common sense, but mental health promotion strategies need to address the aspects of life that impact most on how people feel about themselves, including those that my hon. Friend talked about, such as bullying, homophobia, racial discrimination, family conflict, employment and feeling isolated. We need good partnership working at national and local level to tackle some of these issues. This relates to the whole public health agenda. We are bringing together at local level—through, for example, local area agreements—local government, health care, trusts, voluntary organisations and Jobcentre Plus to consider what all the aspects of an individual’s life are and what impact those are likely to have on their mental health.
My Department is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Health and Safety Executive on our health, work and well-being strategy. The aim is to get employers engaged in the debate and considering what they provide and what support they give. How can we ensure that Jobcentre Plus is working closely with employers? This is not only about helping people to remain in work. Too often, people feel that they cannot go to work because of the stigma and discrimination and because others do not understand how to deal with the issue. Managers and work colleagues are frightened of it. How do we say, “No, that is the wrong approach”? I have seen many good examples. My hon. Friend mentioned Royal Mail, and BT is another good example of a company where I have seen good support given to people. It is not just about helping people back into work, but about helping people to remain in work.
My hon. Friend is right to talk about giving men control of their own health. That is what the direction that we take in the White Paper towards the individualised care approach is about. How do we ensure that care is more convenient for people, that it is closer to their homes? We are talking about more choice and information, and simple positive steps that people can take to improve their own well-being. He is right to say that that is one of the keys, particularly when it comes to mental health issues.
My hon. Friend talked about problems, particularly in the BME communities. This year, we conducted the count me in census. We asked people to consider in particular racial background in mental health in-patient care. That means that we now have a baseline whereby we can measure progress, which we have set out through the delivering race equality programme. I believe that that will make a real difference, particularly in terms of reaching out to BME communities.
As my
hon. Friend said, it is important that we understand the reasons behind
some of the statistics that we have discussed today. The overall
suicide rate is now at its lowest recorded level, but until recently
the suicide rate among young adult males had been rising. The death
rate in this group is still far too high and is
much higher than in the general population. We have introduced measures
through our national suicide prevention strategy that are starting to
have an impact, but we certainly need to redouble our efforts in that
direction to ensure that we encourage young men to look after their
mental well-being and, crucially, to seek help when they need it. We
need to understand the reasons why men are unwilling to engage with
services and to admit problems, and we need to devise policies to
tackle them.
My hon. Friend mentioned some of the risk factors associated with young men. They include psychological factors such as depression, low self-esteem, and substance misuse, as well as social factors such as unemployment and family problems, but when we began to develop our suicide prevention strategy, there was little evidence about what works in promoting good mental health with young men. We wanted to find out why men find it more difficult to talk about their problems, why they are more likely to resist health promotion messages, and why they are reluctant to ask for help when they are in distress.
That will become even more important as we consider how to expand some of our programmes. My hon. Friend mentioned Richard Layard’s work. In our manifesto and in the White Paper we said that we would extend access to psychological therapies. That is vital and is something that might help men who are reluctant to come forward. We need to get behind those issues and to extend our programme of psychological therapies.
That is why at the conference it was pleasing to be able to launch the evaluation report of the reaching out pilot scheme, which examined how we can encourage young men to seek help earlier and identify some of the barriers that discourage them from seeking it. The evaluation report set out the lessons learned by those pilots. One lesson was that involving service users in designing the care required is vital. Yes, this is a message that goes across all the health care services. It was particularly important in this area. Young men responded much more positively if we talked about mental well-being as opposed to mental health problems. That is an interesting lesson. All the evidence will help local providers to improve the way in which they engage young men and develop their services.
As my hon. Friend pointed out, it is vital that local organisations think about this, as they will have a duty under the Equality Act 2006 to tackle these issues. We need to lead this from the centre and to ensure that the message is going out loud and clear. I hope that we will continue to work with the all-party group on men’s health, the Men’s Health Forum and all the other organisations that are contributing to building the momentum around this area. I hope that we will be able to work closely together. Frankly, if we can engage in such partnership at national and local level we can do a lot to improve men’s mental health, which is vital to the future of our society.
11.30 am
Sitting suspended until half-past Two o’clock.
Red Squirrel Population
2.30 pm
Frank Cook (in the Chair): It might help right hon. and hon. Members if I inform them that this morning I exercised Mr. Speaker’s dispensation for male Members to divest themselves of their upper garment if they feel incapacitated by the temperature. I shall do so myself.
Mr. Peter Atkinson (Hexham) (Con): It gives me great pleasure to introduce the debate, because it gives us an opportunity to revisit the threat to the red squirrel, which is one of the most treasured features of our native wildlife. I initiated a debate on the subject almost 10 years ago to the day, but since that debate not a lot has happened to help the red squirrel and its position remains as bad as it was when I first highlighted it, which is a great pity. After the previous debate my office received about 500 letters, every one of which condemned me as a cruel and evil man who wanted to exterminate grey squirrels, which, as hon. Members will know, are the main cause of the red squirrel’s decline. Interestingly, what has improved since then is public opinion on the matter. The European Squirrel Initiative, whose help in this debate I very much appreciate, has found in recent opinion polls that the public have—as a result of better information, I think—realised that the grey squirrel, which they, quite reasonably, find attractive, is causing the destruction of the red squirrel.
I do not know why, but the red squirrel inspires particular affection in many people’s minds. Perhaps they read Beatrix Potter when they were young, or they admire the red squirrel’s grace and elegance as it moves through the tree canopies of the broadleaf and conifer woods that it so likes, or they admire its habit of squirreling away its winter food supplies. The red squirrel is held in high regard. The curious thing about that admiration is that, despite its being an iconic animal, many members of the public have never seen a red squirrel. In London and the south-east, one probably has to be over 60 years old to have seen a red squirrel, because red squirrels were replaced in this part of the country by greys many years ago.
Mr. Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con): Only a loose definition puts the Isle of Wight in the south-east, but on the island one does not have to be over 60 to have seen a red squirrel.
Mr. Atkinson: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for attending the debate, because, as I well know, the Isle of Wight is an important reservoir of red squirrels. It is fortunate in being separated from the mainland by a stretch of water, which I think is why red squirrels have been saved there.
The
grey squirrel was introduced in the 19th century as an ornament to
estate gardens. No doubt that was thought to be a good idea at the
time, but since then the grey squirrel has spread and now it is causing
or is likely to cause an environmental disaster for our native red
squirrels. The issue of alien species has come to the fore in recent
years. Throughout the world, there are a number of examples of what we
have seen happen in this country. Apart from the grey squirrel, we have
the
American mink, which has caused considerable damage to our rivers, and
foreign fish and shellfish species have also been introduced. Not the
least among the vegetation that has been introduced into this country
is the humble rhododendron, which many people admire hugely. One
admires rhododendrons when one sees them in formal gardens, but in
parts of the west of Scotland, as I am sure the Minister knows, they
are spreading and causing great problems. The problem of alien species
is not unique to the UK; it occurs all over the world. The Australians
are trying to eliminate European foxes, which were introduced to
develop fox hunting in Australia. That puts me in a slight quandary, as
I am rather fond of fox hunting, but I can understand the reasons for
what the Australians are doing, because European foxes have done a lot
of damage in that country. In another example, the New Zealand
authorities are making a substantial effort—quite successfully,
I believe—to eliminate the possum from the New Zealand
countryside.
Mr. Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD): I apologise if I am unable to stay for the whole debate, but it might be helpful if those who wrote to the hon. Gentleman understood that we are where we are and that no one is proposing the extermination of grey squirrels throughout the United Kingdom. Our aim is to safeguard areas such as the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and the area that I represent in Northumberland that still offer havens to red squirrels, which are under serious threat. Somehow we need to devise ways in which to protect some terrain on which the red squirrel can survive.
Mr. Atkinson: I agree with my right hon. neighbour, whose constituency, like mine, has a large number of red squirrels. In fact, the Hexham constituency contains 80 per cent. of the red squirrel population in England. There are other healthy populations on the Isle of Wight and on Brownsea island off the south-coast, for many of the same reasons. There are a few in Thetford forest, at Sefton in Merseyside and in Cumbria, as well as some populations in central Wales, the Scottish borders and the Scottish highlands. However, their numbers are shrinking. That is the problem that we face, and the problem on which I shall focus.
Not only is the grey squirrel a pest and a threat to the red squirrel, but it does considerable damage to forestry interests. In addition, the cobnut growers of Kent estimate that they lose about 50 per cent. of their crop annually because of theft by grey squirrels. Just the other day, I was in Kensington Gardens on an all-party horticultural trip. The park authorities find that the grey squirrel is a particular menace to trees and flowerbeds and they are desperately trying to discourage people from feeding them, which I can well understand.
The news
has been bad so far, but the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed
(Mr. Beith) touched on some good news for the red squirrel. There has
been a substantial new initiative in the north—in Cumbria and
Northumberland and on the Scottish borders—to preserve what we
have. That is our first priority: we must save what we have and stop
the remorseless advance of the greys. Kielder forest is an ideal
habitat
for red squirrels and the Forestry Commission and others have formed an
organisation, Red Alert, which represents all sorts of interests in the
area. About a year ago, it had a meeting in Newcastle and determined a
new strategy to create 16 reserve areas mainly in the north. They will
be guarded and a buffer zone—a cordon sanitaire—will
created around round them in which everyone will make an effort to stop
the spread of grey squirrels. All the legal methods available will be
used to control the populations in that area and stop the squirrels
mixing, which is
important.
The 16 areas are mainly in Northumberland and Cumbria, but there is also one at Widdale near Hawes and at Sefton in Merseyside. The partners in the scheme will band together and take every possible action to protect the red squirrels within the cordon. Recently, there was a pleasant announcement that the campaign will receive a little more than £600,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which will be added to the £500,000 that the partners in the Red Alert squirrel campaign have raised themselves. I particularly appreciate the Heritage Lottery Fund and its chairman, Liz Forgan, for being so imaginative and providing funding for that purpose. It will be put to good use. Lord Redesdale, a colleague of the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, is putting together a campaign to link farmers and landowners in the area better so that the control of the grey squirrel can go ahead.
That is good news in the sense that the Scottish authorities are co-operating. In the past, Scotland has tended to do its own thing. It has its own problems with grey squirrels introduced in the central belt, which are advancing down into the borders and up into the highlands. From a selfish point of view, those in the borders worry us most of all because they are coming down south and could invade from that side. We need the co-operation of the forestry interests in Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and others to make the circle round Kielder forest and the forests on the borders tight and complete. That is the good news.
The bad news is something called squirrel pox virus, which is an affliction to which grey squirrels are immune, but to which the reds are not. Not all grey squirrels have it, but the problem is that some of those that do are in Cumbria, and they are beginning to cross the border and spread out into Scotland. That could bring them into contact with the protective buffer zone around the squirrels in Kielder forest. We are concerned because two red squirrels were recently found within two miles of my home in Northumberland, and examination showed that they had died from the squirrel pox virus. So the virus is spreading in Northumberland, which is particularly bad news.
Generally, when
grey squirrels invade an area, the reds disappear slowly—it is a
gradual erosion. Many experts who are listening will know better than
I, but I believe that it happens largely because the grey squirrel is
about twice the weight of a red squirrel and eats a lot more than the
red squirrel. In addition, the densities of squirrel populations
vary—the density of the red squirrel population is estimated to
be slightly more than one per hectare, whereas the density of the grey
is about eight per hectare. There is therefore much more
pressure on a piece of woodland where the grey squirrels are present,
yet the greys and the reds are competing for the same food supplies. We
believe that lack of food and perhaps lack of breeding space causes the
reds’ physical condition to deteriorate, so that they die over
the winter or fail to reproduce because the females’ fertility
is affected by their poor physical condition. When squirrel pox virus
starts to spread, however, the decline becomes 20 times greater and the
population crashes very quickly. It is an immediate and serious threat
to the future of the red
squirrel.
The argument is not simply a UK-centric one. The red squirrel is common throughout Europe and, I believe, in part of Asia. Red squirrels are all slightly different but they are all red, though some in parts of Germany they look black. They are part of the European wildlife scene, whereas greys were introduced into the UK and Ireland—where they are also a problem. They were introduced into Italy just after the war, in 1948, and they have spread so that it is estimated that there are now some 8 million in northern Italy. There is a danger that they will spread northwards into and over the Alps—like Hannibal—and once they achieve that they will be present in France and Switzerland and throughout Europe. The Italian Government had not done a lot about the problem, but the European Squirrel Initiative tells me that following a helpful meeting the Italian Government have decided to take action against the spread of greys. As with everything in life there is usually a commercial interest involved. The advent of the greys in part of Italy where there is a large hazelnut industry has concentrated minds, because the industry regards them as a threat to an important crop in the Italian economy. It is good news that Europeans are taking an interest.
I do not wish to become a bore, but there are some slight complications with which the Minister may be able to help. One way forward that we have identified is to get some European money to help to fund research projects that will benefit the squirrel population in Europe and the UK. The Berne convention protects the European squirrel—European squirrels are listed in appendix 3 of the convention. For reasons that we do not understand, however, the 1992 habitats directive, which introduced the Berne convention into European domestic legislation, does not list the red squirrel in its annexes. The Berne convention and the habitats directive put an obligation on national authorities to safeguard endangered species and to tackle introduction of alien species. If the Government could persuade the European Commission to add the red squirrel to the European directive, we could consider the issue on a European basis, which could have helpful repercussions for research funding.
The
Government can help in a number of respects—some small, but
others more important. The first—the most important and most
immediate—relates to Government help with funding for research
into the squirrel pox virus. The problem is that we do not know how the
virus is transmitted, and there is only circumstantial, rather than
positive evidence about how it affects the red. We know that it does
affect the red, because the red population crashes, but,
scientifically, there is no link. We know from tests that greys have
antibodies to the virus, so we can see that they have had it but not
been affected. However, no one knows where
in the animal’s body the virus is kept, how it is
translated—perhaps it is at feeding sites—or how it has
moved from the grey to the red.
I am pleased to say that considerable research is going on at the Moredun research institute in Edinburgh and at Liverpool university. The problem is that the researchers are on short-term contracts, and if we do not get research funding, there is a danger that those contracts will run out before any progress has been made. I therefore make a plea to the Minister to see whether we can find some funds—they will not be extensive—so that those research programmes can carry on and find out much more about the pox virus. Once we understand how it is translated from the grey to the red, we can start to do research on developing a vaccine to help the red squirrel, which would be of great interest.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could also help through its woodland grant programme. It currently gives out woodland grants which, in areas where there are red squirrels, make allowances for grey squirrel control. The difficulty is that the grants are cash-limited, so there is no guarantee that somebody who has a grant now will get continue to get one; that will depend on how much money there is in the budget in the next round. Of course, it was always thus in government, but hon. Members will understand that that would lead to a break in the continuity of grey squirrel control. In addition, small woods—those covering less than3 hectares, although I might be wrong about the size—are not included in the woodland grant schemes. However, grey squirrels use small broadleaf woods as a stepping stone into new territory, and it would be extremely helpful if the Minister could see whether there was any way of giving some of the grant money for grey squirrel control to owners of small woodlands.
I mentioned listing the red squirrel in the habitats directive, but I hope that the Minister will also give us more support in our search for the holy grail—a method of restricting grey squirrels. I am not advocating a complete cull or slaughter of grey squirrels, which would be totally pointless, given the size of the population. One could not exterminate them using normal means of control such as shooting and trapping. Scientists across the world who deal with introduced alien species are trying to find an immuno-contraception method—a way of interfering with the fertility of the animal. If they can develop such a method, it would be the answer to the problem of the grey squirrel population. We would not be slaughtering the greys; instead, they would slowly die out in the areas where we used that technique. That would allow us to pick areas that were suitable for the reintroduction of the red and then to carry a gentle programme of humane eradication of the grey squirrel population there.
Work was done on that system at Sheffield university, and much was made of it 10 years ago when I had a debate on this issue, but that work came to an end. However, the Central Science Laboratory in York, with the help of some DEFRA funding, is looking again at the system. The Australians have been trying for years to introduce it among rabbits, but without success. It is something that science needs to pursue it if we are to get rid of the alien species that cause so much damage to our native species.
We need to make a real effort to save the red squirrel. The new sanctuaries around the country will be our last chance. If they are invaded and the march of the greys continues, the gloomy prediction of some scientists, that the red squirrel population in this country will have died out within 20 years, will be realised. I think that we would all say that that would be a great tragedy.
2.50 pm
Mr. Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD): I commend the hon. Member for Hexham(Mr. Atkinson) on his persistence, coming back to the subject 10 years later to point out that the situation has become worse in the meantime, with the invasion of greys into the areas of red squirrel population, which were once more widespread in Northumberland than they are today. I well remember often seeing red squirrels in the Tyne valley, for example, where I believe that greys are now to be found. We hope that Kielder forest will remain a major sanctuary, and across the north of Northumberland there are a number of smaller woodland areas where we still have red squirrels. We do not want to see that territory taken over by greys.
Grey squirrels are a feature of the landscape of much of the United Kingdom, and clearly it would be neither possible nor popular to remove them entirely. In many parts of the country, they are quite natural. They are the only squirrel that people see, people enjoy seeing them and they are fascinating creatures. However, in those areas where we still have red squirrels it is vital under any interpretation of biodiversity that we retain them. That will require tough action, such as the rigid maintenance of sanctuary areas and the buffer zones around them, and definite action to ensure that any arrival of greys into those areas is dealt with quickly. Research such as that mentioned by the hon. Gentleman offers us considerable possibilities for the future. Finally, we need urgently to find some way to deal with squirrel pox. What a bitter blow it was when the news came to those in Northumberland who have made such assiduous efforts over long periods to try to preserve the habitat of the reds that there was another threat to their survival.
I hope that the population in the Isle of Wight, represented here by the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner), can be sustained. Species have crossed stretches of water before now, although I am not sure whether there have been serious grey sightings on the island. Keeping species out is that much more difficult when the only barrier is a land barrier.
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