It’s the end of March and the 2026 Scottish Parliament election is rapidly approaching. VOX Scotland has been campaigning on our manifesto and listening to the promises from the different political parties about how they will support people living with mental illness.
One thing that has been evident on mental health, and health in general, has been the level of cross-party consensus and the clear willingness to work together to make things better. We heard consensus that the implementation and delivery of the Scottish Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy has been too slow, and accountability needs strengthening if the strategy is to deliver real change. We heard five of the six parties commit to allocating 10% of NHS spend to mental health and agree that there needs to be much greater transparency and accountability around mental health budgets.
There has been cross-party support for a shift towards prevention and community based services, but debate around whether that grows from decentralisation of services or out of a reduction in the number of NHS boards and greater direction and central leadership around the makeup of services.
Every party has acknowledged the strain on mental health professionals and the urgency for improving recruitment and retention across both the NHS, social care and the third sector. Every party has also called for better multidisciplinary working and more stable funding for voluntary sector providers, whether that’s in mental health or social care. There was some debate about ways to ensure workforce retention through pay and tax reform, and balancing funding for public services.
On the rising stigma around severe mental illness, and the need for a renewed national anti-stigma programme, there have been mixed messages, from simply talking about mental illness more to moving beyond awareness campaigns toward measurable reductions in discrimination. We heard about people feeling unsafe in their communities due to growing stigma and discrimination and how parties understood that words matter, and that the things that divide society need to be challenged. We heard about challenging the toxic culture invading politics. We also heard about making and planning for physical environments that are safer, and ensuring everyone has access to good transport infrastructure. We heard party candidates talk about leadership and role modelling good behaviour and making sure interventions didn’t create false narratives around marginalised groups.
We heard about the importance of incorporating the UNCRDP into Scots Law and about getting adult disability payment right. We also heard about the importance of creating and supporting employment opportunities for disabled people and around the challenges of social security not enabling people to do both paid and voluntary work. We heard about problems with access to work support and the vital role the third sector play in supporting people into work.
Some parties talked to the need for legal redress to ensure that people were able to claim their rights and about needing to reform legal aid. We asked how we could use the law to ensure public sector equality duties are met and how we tackle the poor awareness of legal duties within the public sector. Challenges around data and complaints were mentioned and questions around how we drive up quality of care.
Almost all parties agreed on ending non-residential care charges after the 2026 election. When pushed on how this would be affordable, reducing the administrative costs of the current system and allocating central government funding were mentioned.
We talked about the importance of a living wage for social care workers and about how we can find ways to ensure there are enough care workers in our communities. Some parties committed to delivering the National Care Service. We also talked about digital technology, both as a benefit and a barrier. With many parties looking to a more digital future. We talked about accessible housing particularly in rural areas.
We heard candidates recognise the role of the third sector in reducing isolation and loneliness, about the importance of volunteering and places for communities to come together.
When asked about the importance of involving lived experience, unanimously, across all hustings, this was supported and championed, with numerous examples drawn from this last parliamentary session. There was cross party support for engagement with lived experience right from the start, not just consultation, and that what we hear needs to translate into actions more often. One party went as far as to highlight the core principle of participatory democracy and the importance of having voting rights for people with lived experience. We also heard some commitments for a Human Rights Bill, subject to discussions on resourcing and implementation, that would embed the role of lived experience and support people living with mental illness to be able to fully realise their rights in Scotland.
These thoughts are a reflection on listening to candidates and party representatives at the Scottish Mental Health Forum hustings, Inclusion Scotland hustings, VHS and The Alliance hustings and at a panel discussion by party deputy leaders. Throughout April there will be further hustings covering a range of subjects, VOX Scotland will continue to share our manifesto and amplify the voice of people living with mental illness in these elections.
In no particular order: Emma Roddick MSP (SNP), Brian Whittle MSP (Scottish Conservatives), Paul Sweeney MSP (Scottish Labour), Gillian Mackay MSP (Scottish Greens), Cllr Sally Pattle (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Jon Whitton (Reform UK Scotland), Daniel Bowman (Scottish Conservatives), Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens), Oliver Thomas (Scottish Labour), Caron Lindsay (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Patrick Harvey (Scottish Greens), Carol Mochan (Scottish Labour), Euan Davidson (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Emma Harper (SNP), Helen McDade (Reform UK Scotland), Jackie Baillie (Scottish Labour), Kate Forbes (SNP), Rachael Hamilton (Scottish Conservatives)