Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they hold that shows that increased investment in mental health services in schools reduces the level of mental health conditions in children and young people.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Mental health support teams (MHSTs) work with young people and parents to support the mental health needs of children and young people in primary, secondary, and further education to provide early, evidence-based interventions that follow recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Research conducted by NHS South Central and West, commissioned by NHS England, found qualitative evidence from seven MHST sites that MHSTs are successful in reaching children and young people who would not have otherwise accessed mental health services and that they complement wider mental health services by delivering low-level interventions for those waiting to be seen by specialist services. MHSTs were also reported to allow earlier identification and management of mental health issues, to normalise and destigmatise mental health in schools, and the improve knowledge and quality of referrals to other local services.
Research from 2025 by Bebbington et al. into 459 children and young people found that low-intensity cognitive behavioural interventions delivered in one MHST service were effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and emotional and behavioural difficulties in children and young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties. In an evaluation of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Trailblazer programme, education settings reported positive early outcomes, including increased staff confidence and access to advice about mental health issues for children with mild-to moderate mental health problems.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of working days lost due poor mental health in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of working days lost due to mental health conditions in the last five years:
Year | Number of days lost due to mental health conditions (millions) | Proportion of days lost due to mental health conditions |
2020 | 20.5 | 13.7% |
2021 | 14.8 | 9.0% |
2022 | 19.0 | 10.1% |
2023 | 18.8 | 12.4% |
2024 | 16.4 | 13.5% |
Source: Office for National Statistics.
The working day is defined as seven hours and 30 minutes.
These estimates were produced using the Labour Force Survey, which is a household survey representative of the United Kingdom labour market, and it is used to produce estimates of employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity in the UK along with many other labour market statistics. Caution should be taken when analysing total days lost for 2020 and 2021, because of the impact of furlough and other policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) public understanding of clinical mental health terminology, and (2) whether misunderstandings in language contribute to increased demand for clinical services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment of public understanding of clinical mental health terminology, nor whether misunderstandings in language contribute to increased demand for clinical services.
The independent review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism will look to understand and provide clarity on the similarities and differences between mental health conditions. It will examine the quality of evidence on what is driving demand, to determine which trends reflect real increase in disorder, which reflect changes in awareness or access, and which are artefacts of measurement or definition. The review will produce a short report setting out conclusions and recommendations for responding to rising need, both within government and across the health system and wider public services.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the remit of the independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism will include research into the impact of the language used to discuss mental health conditions on patients, clinicians and the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As an independent review, it is for the Chairs to determine the scope of their work, the issues they examine, and the outputs and recommendations they choose to make.
This review will be critical in identifying new models of support and pathways, within and beyond the National Health Service, that prioritise prevention and early intervention. It will also provide evidence‑based recommendations to improve outcomes, reduce inequalities and ensure timely support.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the influence of (1) social media, and (2) greater public awareness, on self-diagnosis and subsequent formal diagnosis of mental health conditions; and what guidance they have provided to clinicians about those influences.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2019, the UK Chief Medical Officers published a commentary on the findings of a systematic review on screen-based activities and children’s mental health. They found an association between screen-based activities and mental health but could not establish causality. The commentary is avaiable in the document attached.
On 20 January 2026, the Government announced a forthcoming consultation on how to ensure children have a healthy relationship with devices, introduce rapid trials on measures to reduce screentime and limit access at night, and produce evidence-informed screentime guidance for parents of children aged five to 16 years old. This three-month consultation will be evidence-led, with input from independent experts, and will include determining the right minimum age for children to access social media. It will report in the summer.
Over the past decade, greater public awareness and reduced stigma around mental health have coincided with a rise in common mental health conditions and increased demand for National Health Service support, highlighting the need to better understand and address people’s needs.
The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism will therefore examine a range of potential drivers of mental health conditions, the impact of clinical practice, including the role of diagnosis, opportunities for prevention and early intervention, and models of support within and beyond the NHS.
The review’s Terms of Reference are published on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what research or analysis is being carried out to understand the factors contributing to the increasing demand for mental health services, including factors other than overdiagnosis and diagnostic practices.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research into mental health via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Through the NIHR, the Department is investigating a wide range of factors that contribute to the increase in mental health prevalence across England, including social, environmental, demographic, and biological factors. The Department also funds several population surveys that measure the national prevalence of mental health disorders.
The Department recently launched an independent review led by Professor Peter Fonagy into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism. This review will examine the evidence on rising demand for mental health, autism, and ADHD services so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place. The review will produce a short report setting out conclusions and recommendations for responding to the rising need, both within the Government and across the health system and wider public services.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of NHS funding is allocated to mental health care.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2025/26, total forecast mental health spend is £15.6 billion, which works out at 8.71% of the recurrent National Health Service baseline of £179.4 billion. This was set out in a Written Ministerial Statement by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 27 March 2025.
As the Medium-Term Planning Framework makes clear, we need a new approach for mental health to drive down waits, improve the quality of care, and increase the productivity of mental health services.
Funding is a key part of this. We have set out that over the next three years, integrated care boards will be required to meet the mental health investment standard by protecting mental health spending in real terms. In other words, rising in line with inflation from 2026/27.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to prevent the risk of overdiagnosing mental health conditions in children and young people.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises rising demand for children and young people’s mental health services.
Through the Plan for Change and our 10-Year Health Plan, we are transforming the mental health system to strengthen clinical pathways and improve access to early support, while reducing the longest waits for specialist care and tackling regional disparities.
The independent review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism is examining the drivers of rising prevalence and demand, to ensure people receive the right support, at the right time, and in the right place.
More widely, we are accelerating the rollout of mental health support teams in schools and colleges, with national coverage expected by 2029. By this spring, approximately 60% of pupils will have access to early mental health support, up from 44% in spring 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government by how much demand for mental health, ADHD and autism services is increasing or decreasing in each of the past five years for people aged (1) under 16, (2) 16-24, (3) 25-34, (4) 35-49, (5) 50-64, and (6) over 65.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of people in contact with National Health Service funded secondary mental health, learning disabilities and autism services, in each financial year between 2020/21 and 2024/25:
Age group | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Under 16 years old | 593,297 | 776,750 | 869,206 | 915,617 | 986,814 |
16-24 years old | 499,690 | 595,233 | 642,990 | 640,187 | 678,667 |
25-34 years old | 385,511 | 438,756 | 500,668 | 542,170 | 606,461 |
35-49 years old | 424,031 | 466,396 | 525,588 | 581,642 | 661,362 |
50-64 years old | 331,311 | 357,524 | 388,097 | 418,523 | 449,505 |
65 years old and over | 563,811 | 609,373 | 647,310 | 675,575 | 685,797 |
UNKNOWN | 5,593 | 12,663 | 9,005 | 17,112 | 60,684 |
Source: Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS)
Notes:
The following table shows the number of people known to be in contact with NHS Talking Therapies in each financial year between 2020/21 and 2024/25:
Age group | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|
Under 16 years old | 1,222 | 1,189 | 925 | 886 | 749 |
|
16-24 years old | 360,673 | 424,826 | 398,859 | 370,377 | 350,213 |
|
25-34 years old | 487,273 | 571,094 | 563,973 | 555,142 | 543,044 |
|
35-49 years old | 437,838 | 514,275 | 537,364 | 564,755 | 583,614 |
|
50-64 years old | 265,491 | 311,633 | 332,821 | 358,120 | 366,773 |
|
65 years old and over | 89,446 | 108,885 | 123,740 | 136,297 | 140,262 |
|
Source: Improving Accessing to Psychological Therapies dataset Notes:
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Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 26 January (HL13748), how much the Every Mind Matters campaign has cost since January 2025 to date.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There has been no campaign spend for Every Mind Matters over the period requested. However, a campaign launched over the new year and is running until the end of March 2026 to encourage people to take new NHS Healthy Choices Quiz which asks questions about six health topics, including mental health and sleep. People whose answers to the quiz indicate mental health difficulties will be signposted to appropriate help, including Every Mind Matters, NHS Talking Therapies, or other National Health Service mental health services.