Business of the House

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Thursday 8th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am delighted to support my hon. Friend and all other hon. Members who are mad enough to take part in the London marathon. I share his admiration for the manner in which Doddie Weir has reacted to his MND diagnosis. It is a terrible disease, and we should do everything we can to support work on it. I congratulate everyone involved in the Tartan Giraffe Ball, which sounds fascinating—I would love to see the photos.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

In her opening remarks, the Leader of the House mentioned that it is Children’s Mental Health Week. I am working with the Royal Society for Public Health to establish a specific all-party parliamentary group on child mental health and the links with social media companies, including the impact that social media has on mental health. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate that focuses specifically on child mental health and the impact of social media?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I genuinely commend the hon. Gentleman for sorting out that APPG. It is such an important matter. We are seeing a spike in young people with problems that are attributed to the use of social media. We are putting a record £1.4 billion into children and young people’s mental health, and a record 1,440 children’s mental health beds are available. We are also training staff in secondary schools in mental health first aid. There is a lot more to do, but I commend him for his contribution.