Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Conclusion 4
Eighth Report - Children and young people’s mental health
Published 9 Dec 2021
Paragraph 34
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee Children and young people's mental health All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
During the pandemic, children and young people’s mental health has significantly worsened and the scale of the backlog mean that the NHS will not be able to treat its way out of this crisis. The need for early intervention and prevention in children and young people’s mental health has been consistently overlooked by successive governments and although there has been a significant expansion of services recently the pace of change has not been keeping up with increases in demand. Still today too many children and young people are reaching the point of crisis before they can access any mental health support. This compounds stress not only on the individuals affected, but across society more widely. The lack of adequate protective support and early intervention create unnecessary pressure across the entire healthcare system, from GP appointments to A&E presentations and NHS inpatient services.
From: Health and Social Care Committee, Eighth Report - Children and young people’s mental health (HC 17), paragraph 34, 9 December 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 March 2022 (deadline 9 February 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and says it has "considered the recommendations", with responses that accept some in part, accept a few in full, and are considering others.
- On a cabinet sub-committee (Recommendation 1), it accepts in part, saying "the portfolios of ministers and cabinet committees are the prerogative of the Prime Minister", and it retains a cross-government Ministerial group.
- On 100% access to specialist support (Recommendation 4), "the government is considering" it, adding that plans beyond current commitments "are contingent on future funding settlements".
- It agrees the gap between mental health surveys was too long and commits to "a comprehensive national survey every 7 years", with the next in 2024, rather than the Committee's 3-year cycle.
- It accepts the recommendation on expanding Independent Mental Health Advocates to informal patients, but says this is "subject to future funding decisions".