With over a third of children referred to children and young people’s mental health
services (CYPMHS) waiting for treatment, today’s report by the Children’s
Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, on CYPMS in 2024–25 provides further
evidence of a system under pressure and struggling to meet demand. We need for
urgent reform of CYPMHS and shift to care earlier on in the community.
The report shows that demand is rising at record rates and although more children
accessed treatment than in the previous year, referral backlogs are growing and more
then 60,00 children are waiting at least two years for support. We know that longer waits
for treatment lead to poorer outcomes, and the recent Milburn review highlighted the
impact this is having on a generation of young people.
As part of the Future Minds Campaign, we have set out a clear, evidence-informed plan
to stabilise specialist support while shifting care to earlier and in the community. Key to
achieving this is ensuring delivery of the manifesto commitment to open access mental
health support in every community for every young person. This will allow children and
young people to get help where they are, before they reach crisis point.
The report also shows the impacts are not felt equally amongst young people. Not only
are Black and Asian children are underrepresented in referrals to CYPMHS, but when
they are referred, they are much more likely to be referred for being ‘in crisis’ with one in
four Black children referred to compared to 7.4 per cent of white children.
This demonstrates how poor mental health is not a health issue but a wider societal
issue. We need an approach that engages schools, communities and national and local
government and tackles the drivers of mental illness. The Government has an
opportunity to act through its forthcoming mental health strategy. To succeed, the
strategy must prioritise reform of children’s mental health services and will require
genuine action across government departments.
