Disability: Children

(asked on 22nd March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding of the report by the Disabled Children’s Partnership, entitled The longest lockdown, that three in 10 of families with disabled children felt their child had depression as a result of delays to routine health appointments during the covid-19 outbreak, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the effect of that outbreak on disabled children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.


Answered by
Helen Whately Portrait
Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 30th March 2021

On 23 November 2020 we published a Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19, setting out the steps we have taken to strengthen the support available during the pandemic, including for disabled children. On 5 March 2021, we announced that £79 million, will be used to significantly expand mental health services for children, including disabled children. This additional funding will allow around 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services and enable a faster increase in the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges over the next financial year. Additionally, NHS England and NHS Improvement have been clear that services for disabled children with an Education, Health and Care plan should be fully restored.

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