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Mental Health: Men

Asked by James McMurdockIndependentDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 16 June 2026UIN 7335

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of peer support walking groups in improving men’s mental health outcomes.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

We know that men can find it more difficult to talk about their mental health, and that initiatives such as peer support walking groups and other community-based mental health initiatives may be helpful in improving men’s mental health and reducing loneliness and social isolation.

We appreciate the valuable role that the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector plays in mental health, and we continue to work with a wide range of voluntary, community, and social enterprise stakeholders which play such an important role in supporting men at risk of mental ill health.

The Men’s Health Strategy, which was launched in November 2025, includes tangible actions to improve access to healthcare, provide the right support to enable men to make healthier choices, develop healthy living and working conditions, foster strong social, community, and family networks, address societal norms, and tackle health challenges and conditions. These include investment in community-based men's health programmes and suicide prevention programmes, and a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to make sure people know what mental health support is available to them.

Raising awareness of loneliness across society and reducing the associated stigma for all groups at risk of loneliness, including men, is a core part of the Government’s current approach to tackling loneliness. This includes providing loneliness advice as part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is also supporting organisations which can play a role in reducing loneliness stigma amongst men through the tackling loneliness hub, an online platform that connects professionals from across sectors working to reduce loneliness.

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