Mental Health (Higher Education Institutions)

Valerie Vaz Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

Congratulations, Madam Deputy Speaker, on your election to your post.

I thank Mr Speaker for granting this Adjournment debate on an extremely important issue that is of growing concern—how to support our most precious young people on the thresholds of their lives. I want to set out the background to the issue, the evidence that shows that it is an area of growing concern, what is good practice, and what can be done for the future.

Hon. Members on both sides of the House may have seen the recent examples of students who are putting mental health and counselling services at the top of their agenda for change. In March, students from Goldsmiths University occupied Deptford town hall and demanded the recruitment of more counsellors. Also in March, students from the London School of Economics called for the removal of the standard six-session cap on counselling sessions. In April, students from King’s College, London included in their provisional occupation demands a call for mandatory training for their personal tutors in giving advice on mental health, and they wanted an additional cognitive behavioural therapist to be employed, to cut down on waiting times.

Members will have seen recently that two students from the same Oxford college committed suicide—one in December 2013 and the other in March 2014. Across the House Members are agreed and have accepted that the Government are going to pursue parity of esteem between mental health and physical health, which is welcome.

Why is this becoming an issue of concern? There are a number of reasons. We expect the many students who have left home for the first time to get into college, set up a household, learn how to budget, form new relationships and get involved in their academic courses, but at the same time they are separated from their usual support networks. Some may come from another country, while others, because of widening access to higher education, including vocational qualifications, may also face particular challenges. I am concerned that the Royal College of General Practitioners says that tens of thousands of 15 to 34-year-olds are suffering from depression, stress and anxiety.

Another issue is study pressure and the continuous annual examinations that young people face from the age of 13—sometimes even younger—to 18. Now their CVs have to be bulging with placements and work experience. They say that they have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, that they play three instruments at grade 8 and that they have a string of A*s—and that is before they even get to university.

Another possible reason is financial pressure. We talk of paying down the debt, and yet we are saddling our young people with, on average, a debt of £44,000 at the start of their working lives, which they then have to carry through. That is the estimate of the House of Commons Library, based on Student Loans Company statistics for 2013-14. It is notable that Germany has abolished tuition fees: Lower Saxony was the last federal state to abolish them, and that was in October 2014. Perhaps we can learn some lessons from that.

After graduation, some find it difficult to find well-paid work, or they have to work a long-hours culture. The latest figures from the Student Loans Company showed that 30% of new graduates were working but not earning enough to be liable to pay their loans. That was the figure for 2012, so it will be interesting to see the new figures, which will be released on 18 June.

What of the evidence? A 2013 survey by the National Union of Students found that 49% of students had felt depressed during their studies; that 55% had felt anxious during their studies; and that 20% considered themselves to have a mental health problem. In 2011, 6,000 students had a diagnosed mental health condition, compared with almost 9,000 in 2013—that is a 58% increase in three years, even though the student intake actually fell by 16% during the same period.

A freedom of information request in 2014 revealed that the number of undergraduate and postgraduate students accessing counselling services at Oxford University went up by 136% and 172% respectively between 2003-04 and 2013-14. For undergraduates, there was a rise from 4% to 9%.

Happily, we are moving on to a different track, because we are now able to track the student academic experience. The Institute for Higher Education Policy Institute and the Higher Education Academy have produced two consecutive reports. The 2014 report states that students generally feel lower levels of wellbeing than the general population, which is of some concern. They may require further support from institutions, not only through dedicated support services, but through peer networks and mentoring programmes.

The 2015 report concludes that students are less happy and have less of a sense that the things they do are worth while than the general population, even compared with people in the same age group. That shows the need to improve student support services, including counselling, even in challenging financial times.

What can be done? There is good practice from the Open University, a non-campus university that supports lifelong learning. The OU contacts students about their adjustments to ensure that they are supported, giving advice about staying on track, prioritising work and having flexibility with deadlines, and about other adjustments.

Students are encouraged to apply for disabled students allowances so that they can access the support of a mental health mentor. They all have access to the guide “Studying and staying mentally healthy”, which the Open University states has lots of practical guidance. As a result, the Open University found that evidence showed that disabled students who received DSAs have higher completion rates and are more likely to progress in their studies. However, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists, is concerned that counselling is no longer viewed as an essential element of student support. It says that more generalised wellbeing support and advice offered by non-clinically trained staff is increasingly seen as the way forward.

Dr Ruth Caleb, head of counselling at Brunel University and chair of Mental Well-being in Higher Education, has written a timely article entitled “Student Mental Wellbeing: whose responsibility?” She makes many points, but the two most important ones are that ignoring student wellbeing support costs the university or higher education institution a great deal of money when student retention is very important; and that it is the responsibility of the Government and senior management to ensure that students are supported to stay until the end of their course, to help them to achieve the best they are capable of. The more compelling reason is the need to behave morally and ethically for our students.

Dr Caleb has published a guide—“Student mental wellbeing in higher education: good practice guide”—and makes important recommendations, including on guidance structures, and training and awareness raising activities to help institutions to work towards a much more collaborative model. I suggest to the Minister that that might be a good blueprint for a policy or guidance note that can be rolled out to higher education institutions.

Ben Lewis, from the Cardiff University student services organisation, has said that students are forced to rely on support from their institutions, which is finite and resource-limited, so the NHS has a collaborative role. However, BACP has said that there might be a temptation for universities to hand over responsibility to the NHS. If it is more difficult to see a counsellor, people are referred to the NHS, which has longer waiting times. That also means more pressure on the NHS.

BACP has cited data showing that, of 5,500 students from 65 universities, 81% considered that counselling helped them to stay at university; that 79% said that counselling helped them academically do better in their work; and that 78% said that counselling helped them to develop employability skills. That is all pointing in the right direction if we continue to embed those services.

I have a number of questions to ask the Minister. First, will he ensure that there is a Government-led review of higher education counselling services to formulate a policy before the situation gets worse?

Secondly, as the Institute for Higher Education Policy recommended, will the Government ensure that counselling services are funded even at challenging financial times, that students get the appropriate service of higher or lower-intensity counselling, and that those are embedded in higher education institutions’ policies?

Thirdly, will the Government stop the proposed changes to DSAs? As the Open University has found, many students benefit from support tutors to stay on the course. I was at a round-table discussion at the Royal Society of Chemistry last year. The Royal Agricultural University stressed the importance of DSA for their students, two thirds of whom are on DSAs. That helps the university to give them the support they need to stay on. If they did not have those students—they are graduating with science degrees—the university might have to close. That is why it is important to ensure that DSAs are retained.

Fourthly, will the Minister work with the Department for Health to ensure that clinical commissioning groups and university counselling services work together in areas with a high student population, and that services are complementary, not duplicated, so that students do not fall between the two and miss out on the services they need?

Fifthly, will he publish guidance so that students who interrupt their studies for mental health reasons, as two students did, are properly supported by higher education institutions during that period? A period of intermission should not simply be a means for the institution to avoid addressing a problem a student may be facing. Students should be supported back into their studies.

I hope the Minister will agree with what I believe are reasonable asks. Above all, I hope they will be embedded in any Government policy he sets out to protect our students. Students are our most precious assets and our hope for the future. We must support them so they can discover and unleash their talents, and fulfil their potential for the good of us all.