A Bury councillor has taken part in an inquiry to help tackle mental health inequalities across the borough.

Cllr Nathan Boroda, who represents Unsworth, met with former MP Luciana Berger, who is leading a Labour-led review into mental health services across the country.

Ms Berger, the former MP for Liverpool Wavertree and Shadow Mental Health Minister, is conducting a review into "making mental health everyone’s business", and laying the groundwork for a cross-government strategy on mental health.

As part of the investigation, Cllr Boroda, cabinet member for health, wellbeing and adult social care, proposed a series of recommendations to the inquiry.

Cllr Boroda has called for a national social prescribing strategy which would aim at sharing local best practice and secure long-term funding for providers.

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He also highlighted work going on in the borough, including the "Nature for Health" green social prescribing project run by Lancashire Wildlife Trust in Philips Park with much of the outreach work done by The Fed in Prestwich.

As part of the plans for a cross-departmental mental health strategy, Cllr Boroda also highlighted the work done in Bury to embed health in all policies.

This has come through the new Bury Health Inequalities Strategy, launched last December, which asks all parts of the public sector and community to come together to reduce inequalities in health access.

Cllr Boroda highlighted the role of social housing, the environment and education in mental health.

He has also advocated that the party’s plans to introduce mental health hubs in every community are all consistently "multi-agency, cross-generational and deeply rooted in the community".

Cllr Boroda said: “I was pleased to have taken part in Labour’s review into mental health, building on my local experience here in Bury.

“Across our borough, there fantastic examples of social prescribing that serve as a model for the country, in particular for the power of green Social prescribing.

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“It is crucial that any future government ensures a strategy for local best practice to be shared and long-term sustainable funding be secured.

“Bury’s health inequalities is also a model for embedding health in every aspect of policy by ensuring that agencies come together to tackle the social determinants of health, including mental health.

"Our borough would greatly benefit from Labour’s plans to introduce mental health hubs in every community.

"We know how important it is for these hubs to be multi-agency and really rooted in a community.

"Likewise, from our services in Bury we have seen the value that cross-generational working does for older and younger people alike.”