A step towards change: Members perspectives on government policies on children and young people’s mental health

Ten years have passed since the publication of Future in Mind, the blueprint for transforming the children’s mental health system. However, the scale of crisis facing the children’s mental health system remains bigger than ever.  The mental health of children and young people has declined in recent years, with one in five children and young people aged 8 to 25 years with a reported mental health problem in 2023, compared to one in nine in 2017 (NHS Digital, 2023).

The establishment of a new government has brought renewed commitment to babies, children and young people’s mental health. The new government have made a series of commitments in relation to children and young people’s mental health and have pledged to raise the healthiest generation of children and achieve parity of esteem between physical and mental health.

In light of this, we surveyed members of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition in order to understand the impact of these new policies on the children and young people’s mental health landscape. Overall members welcomed the new policies and felt that they were a step in the right direction. However, they were clear that the success of the policies relies on the details of implementation and accountability measures, resourcing and workforce.

We recommend that:

• The Government should commission an independent review into the rise in prevalence in children and young people’s mental health that has a
  statutory footing and appoint a cross-government, cabinet level taskforce on babies, children and young people’s mental health to oversee the delivery of any recommendations made.
• The Government should increase investment in children and young people’s mental health services, with a commitment to meet 70% of diagnosable need by the end of this Parliament.
• The Government should develop a comprehensive children and young people’s mental health workforce plan.