Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Mental Health Services: Young People

Tuesday 1 March 2022 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Kate Green inquired about the assessment of mental health services availability for young people and the NHS's commitment to expand these services.
  • The Secretary of State mentioned providing an additional 79 million for pandemic impacts and a mental health recovery action plan with an extra 500 million in funding.
  • Andrew Bridgen asked about the specific assessment of the effect of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on children's mental health and wellbeing.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kate Green Lab
NHS Mental Health
Context

The MP inquires about the availability of mental health services, noting a specific promise made by the NHS long-term plan to provide a new approach to mental health services for individuals aged 18-25.

Question

What assessment has been made of the availability of mental health services for young people? The NHS long-term plan promises a 'new approach' to mental health services for people aged 18-25. Could the Secretary of State set out in detail how university mental health and wellbeing services will work seamlessly with NHS mental health services so that students in need of support do not fall through the cracks?

Answer from Sajid Javid

We remain committed to the expansion in mental health services in the NHS long-term plan, which should see 345,000 more children accessing services by 2023-24. We have provided an additional £79 million this year for pandemic impacts and a mental health recovery action plan with an additional £500 million of funding, including at least £13 million dedicated to young people between the ages of 18 and 25.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request about integration of university services was not directly addressed.

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Q2 Kate Green Lab
NHS Mental Health
Context

Building on the previous question, the MP seeks specifics about how university mental health services will coordinate with NHS services for young adults aged 18-25.

Question

The NHS long-term plan promises a 'new approach' to mental health services for people aged 18-25. Could the Secretary of State set out in detail how university mental health and wellbeing services will work seamlessly with NHS mental health services so that students in need of support do not fall through the cracks?

Answer from Sajid Javid

Sadly, as she and many other hon. Members will know, eating disorders have increased significantly over the past couple of years. Last year, during the pandemic, we published a mental health recovery action plan with an additional £500 million of funding, including at least £13 million dedicated to young people between the ages of 18 and 25.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request about integration was not directly addressed, focusing instead on pandemic impacts.

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Q3 Andrew Bridgen Con
Mental Health Children & Families
Context

The MP inquires about the assessment made by the government regarding the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns on children's mental health and general wellbeing.

Question

Has my right hon. Friend made any specific assessment of the effect of the covid-19 lockdown restrictions on children's mental health and general wellbeing?

Answer from Sajid Javid

We have made an assessment that continues to look at the significant increase in mental health referrals, especially for young people over the past two years. The extra support through the action plan and £500 million of funding is helping but there will be long-term challenges created by the pandemic.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request about lockdown effects was not directly addressed, focusing instead on general impacts of the pandemic.

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Q4 Rosena Allin-Khan Lab Tooting
NHS Women & Equalities Mental Health
Context

The MP highlights stark inequalities in access to and quality of mental health services for children, especially concerning the disproportionate representation of Black and mixed-race backgrounds in high-level mental health units compared to routine services.

Question

I echo the words of solidarity with Ukraine that many colleagues have shared in recent days. There are stark inequalities in children's mental health services, from postcode lottery referrals to luck-of-the-draw results for eating disorder treatment. Children from Black and mixed-race backgrounds make up 11% of the population but account for a staggering 36% of those detained in highest-level units. However, just 5% access routine services. That is unacceptable—something clearly isn't working.

Answer from Sajid Javid

Before the pandemic there was a commitment to increase funding for mental health services in the NHS's long-term plan by £2.3 billion annually, and during the pandemic an additional £500 million of funding has been provided with £79 million including for 22,500 extra referrals.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request about inequalities was not directly addressed, focusing instead on general funding increases and pandemic response.

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