Children’s Mental Health

Rachel Hopkins Excerpts

Tuesday 8th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

Children’s mental health has been ignored by the Government for far too long, way before the covid pandemic, although over the past two years, sustained periods of isolation, academic stress and uncertainty have taken a further toll on our young people. It is shocking that a third of children in need of support find themselves turned away from mental health services, despite a referral from a professional. For others, the waiting times can be agonising.

Across England in 2020-21, three quarters of children were not seen within four weeks of being referred to children’s mental health services. In my area, covered by BLMK ICS—the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes integrated care system—60% of children referred to children’s mental health services are not seen within four weeks. We expect, and our young people deserve, better.

Early intervention and preventive services are vital to giving every child a healthy start in life and support for their future emotional wellbeing and good mental health. Yet during the last 11 years, in response to huge Conservative Government cuts to our local public services, charities and the voluntary sector have had to step up to ensure that our children have access to support services.

Across Luton and Bedfordshire, the charity Chums provides mental health and emotional wellbeing services to children and young people, and their families. Active Luton has delivered a range of holiday schemes for children up to 16 who are on income-related free school meals, encouraging them to play sports, and engage in arts and crafts, and other enriching activities, as well as ensuring that they receive a nutritious meal. On Monday, I was pleased to visit the KidsOut charity in my Luton South constituency to hear how it supports children who have escaped domestic violence. The charity works with domestic abuse charities such as Women’s Aid to provide toys and games to children who may be living in a refuge or safe house.

While the work of local charities makes a huge contribution to our children’s mental health and wellbeing, they, too, are overstretched and underfunded. Parents and guardians rightly expect their Government to deliver the support their children need, when they need it and on an equitable basis. Mental health and wellbeing are key parental priorities for children’s education and schooling. Parentkind’s annual parent survey in 2021 found that children from less advantaged backgrounds or with additional needs or disabilities are much more vulnerable to mental health issues. Also, the most serious mental health issues in children are more likely to be reported by parents of black, Asian or minority ethnicities, compared with those of white ethnicities. That is shocking and demonstrates how the Government are neglecting inequalities that drive mental health issues in towns such as Luton, which are super-diverse and have pockets of deprivation.

Finally, in this Children’s Mental Health Week, I fully support Labour’s plans to ensure guaranteed mental health treatment within a month, the recruitment of 8,500 new staff, an open-access mental health hub in every community and the provision of specialist mental health support in every school. Labour is ambitious for every child. Through our recovery plan and long-term support for children’s mental health and wellbeing, every young person could receive the support that they need.