Covid-19: Children

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Thursday 17th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lady Thornton. I congratulate and commend my noble friend Lady Morris of Yardley on her well-argued and well-documented speech, and I wish her and my noble friend from the other place who is now here, the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, very happy birthdays.

This is a timely debate, considering the levels of deprivation and poverty throughout many parts of the UK, which have deepened, and considering that lives have become tougher for many people as a result of the pandemic, not least those of children and young people. They have had to do their schoolwork, their play and recreation in totally different ways. Lest we be in any doubt, young people and children depend on social interaction, whether in their family, their community or with their friends. In the last 14 months, that has been sadly lacking for many young people.

Young people have been affected greatly, particularly regarding education, health and ever-expanding inequality. I want to focus on health, well-being and the needs of young people and children, and to ascertain from the Minister how the Government will address the requirements of this group. If the Government are serious about levelling up, in the context of Northern Ireland, where waiting lists for various types of health appointments, and waiting lists generally, are much higher than in other parts of the UK, there needs to be a UK-wide strategy for young people in order to deal with those waiting lists and in particular illnesses in the mental health sphere, and to ensure that we can all deal with those issues on that UK-wide basis.

Throughout the course of this pandemic, young people have seen, on average, a generally declining state of happiness as they have experienced greater negative impacts on their mental health and well-being—a point that has already been referenced by the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton. That is perhaps because of that increased amount of isolation and lack of social interaction. This also seems to be having an on-average higher impact on females, those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs or pre-existing mental health needs.

As already referenced, YoungMinds conducted a survey on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of young people aged 13-25 who had, at some point in their lives, reached out for mental health support. The survey of 2,438 young people found that: 75% found the most recent lockdown harder to cope with; 67% thought the pandemic would have long-term negative effects on their mental health; and 79% believed their mental health would start to improve once the restrictions were lifted. We know that things are more complex and complicated than that. The Government should be focused on reviewing, building up and reforming the mental health support available in schools. I do not believe what we currently have is capable of handling a rebuilding of young people’s mental health.

In conclusion, the Government have a responsibility to ensure that private local mental health charities that people depend on survive the economic hardships of the pandemic. Could the Minister indicate what assistance and support the Government will give them to do just that? I am in no doubt that the Government should be focused on ensuring the building up of local mental health charities and support groups, as local groups have a better ability to assess and understand the case-by-case situation of young people struggling with mental health.

I look forward to the Minister’s answers on these issues.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Alderdice) (LD)]

The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie of Luton, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton.