“Today’s findings from the Health and Social Care Select Committee confirm that mental health support services are still far from delivering effective care for babies, children and young people. Whilst there has been some improvement in access to support over recent years, there is still a lack of urgency and ambition in ensuring that children and young will benefit from plans to expand access. For example, the additional support available to some schools and colleges through Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) is not enough to meet the scale of need and no funding has yet been identified to support every area of the country having access to this crucial provision.
Prevention and early intervention are key components of the mental health system but the report finds that this has been consistently overlooked. Alongside Black Thrive Global, Centre for Mental Health, The Children’s Society, Mind, Youth Access, and YoungMinds, we have been calling on the Government to invest in early intervention support through a national network of community based hubs to help young people with emerging mental health needs up to the age of 25. These hubs ensure young people can access the mental health support they need, at the right time. We strongly welcome the Committee’s recommendation for the Government to fund and roll out a national network of these hubs across every area of the country.
The findings are clear: the Government can no longer under-deliver on the commitments made to improve children and young people’s mental health support. Urgent action is needed to create a comprehensive cross-government approach that prioritises and invests in the mental health of babies, children and young people.”
Kadra Abdinasir, Strategic Lead, The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
