Children and Young People: Mental Health Support Debate
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Maria Caulfield
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Children and Young People: Mental Health Support
Maria Caulfield Excerpts(8 months, 4 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)
I wish to inform the House that the Government have provided additional funding so that 24 early support hubs across England are able to help children and young people receive quicker mental health support. Hub Name Constituency ABL Health Bolton South East, Yasmin Qureshi Base 25 Wolverhampton South West, Stuart Anderson Brook Young People Truro and Falmouth, Cherilyn Mackrory Brent, Wandsworth and Westminster Mind Cities of London and Westminster, Nickie Aiken Centre 33 Cambridge, Daniel Zeichner ChilyPep Barnsley Central, Dan Jarvis The Children’s Society Torbay, Kevin Foster The Children’s Society Gateshead, Ian Mearns CHUMS Charity Mid Bedfordshire, Alistair Strathern Family Action Hackney South and Shoreditch, Meg Hillier Isle of Wight Youth Trust Isle of Wight, Bob Seely Lancashire Mind Chorley, Lindsay Hoyle Mancroft Advice Project (MAP) Norwich South, Clive Lewis Noah's Ark Centre Hallifax, Holly Lynch No Limits South Southampton Test, Alan Whitehead Onside Worcester, Robin Walker People Potential Possibilities Erewash, Maggie Throup Sheffield Futures Sheffield Central, Paul Blomfield Spring North North Blackburn, Kate Hollern Warrington Youth Zone Limited Warrington South, Andy Carter YMCA St Helens St Helens South and Whiston, Marie Rimmer Young Devon North Devon, Selaine Saxby Youth Enquiry Service Wycombe, Steve Baker YPAS Liverpool, Riverside, Kim Johnson
The Government are taking the long-term decisions needed to make our healthcare system faster, simpler and fairer. Mental health support for our young people is a key part of that.
We announced in October 2023 that £4.92 million from HM Treasury’s shared outcomes fund would be available to support hubs and an evaluation to build the evidence base underpinning these services.
Following evaluation of excellent commercial tenders from hubs across the country, I am very pleased to be able to let you know that the Government are now providing an additional £3 million, meaning a total of 24 hubs will receive a share of almost £8 million in 2024-25. This is more than double our original target of funding 10 hubs, and organisations across the length of England—from Gateshead to Truro—will now benefit.
This investment in frontline services means that thousands of children and young people will receive earlier, open-access mental health interventions in local communities.
Crucially, alongside boosting 24 hubs, the funding will also enable us to evaluate the impact of the services and inform any potential expansion of the model in the future. The evaluation aims to report its findings by summer 2025.
As this new investment shows, we want to intervene earlier to prevent children and young people from developing severe or enduring mental health conditions. That is why we are also continuing at pace with the roll-out of mental health support teams to schools and colleges in England. There are currently around 400 mental health support teams in place across England, covering over 3 million children or around 35% of pupils in schools and colleges, and we are extending coverage to at least 50% of pupils in England by the end of March 2025.
I know that we still have a long way to go to ensure that all young people struggling with their mental health get the support they need at the right time, but today’s new investment is a positive step to support children and young people’s mental health, and one that should be celebrated.
[HCWS 293]