A major new report from the Future Minds campaign has warned that England’s children and young people’s mental health system is at risk of becoming overwhelmed, with almost four million additional referrals expected before the end of the current Parliament if urgent action is not taken.
The report, A Mid-Term Report Card on Children and Young People’s Mental Health, concludes that government progress has failed to match the scale of increasing demand, awarding ministers an overall verdict of “Requires Urgent Improvement.”
Future Minds, a coalition of leading charities and mental health organisations including Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, YoungMinds, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, Anna Freud, Mental Health UK and Mind, supported by the Prudence Trust, says current trends could leave more than 1.1 million children and young people without the treatment they need before the next General Election.
The report highlights the growing pressure facing mental health services for children and young people across England.
According to the findings, more than 2.7 million referrals have been made to children and young people’s mental health services since the last General Election. During the same period, waiting times have continued to increase, with more than one-third of children referred for support still waiting for treatment at the end of the reporting year.
Collectively, the report estimates that children and young people in England will spend a combined 1.3 million years waiting for mental health support over the remainder of this Parliament if current trends continue.
The analysis also reveals that almost 61,000 young people are reaching mental health services in crisis every year, while less than 1% of total NHS spending in England is currently allocated to children and young people’s mental health services.
The widening gap between demand and capacity comes as mental health conditions among young people continue to rise. More than one in five children and young people are now experiencing a probable mental health condition, double the rate recorded two decades ago. Meanwhile, referrals to specialist children’s mental health services have almost doubled since 2018/19.
While critical of the overall pace of change, the report acknowledges several areas where progress has been made.
These include the expansion of Mental Health Support Teams in schools, reforms to the Mental Health Act, investment in Young Futures Hubs and measures intended to tackle child poverty.
However, Future Minds argues that these positive developments are being undermined by insufficient investment and a lack of fundamental reform across the wider system.
The report’s publication comes ahead of the highly anticipated independent reviews led by Alan Milburn and Professor Peter Fonagy, both of which are expected to reinforce concerns about the growing impact of poor mental health on educational attainment, employment prospects and wider life chances.
Future Minds is urging ministers to use the forthcoming Mental Health Strategy for England to commit to four key actions:
- Introduce a triple-lock approach to children and young people’s mental health spending, ensuring funding increases by inflation, earnings growth or 2.5%, whichever is highest.
- Establish children and young people’s mental health as a cross-government national priority.
- Introduce and enforce clear access and waiting-time standards for children’s mental health services.
- Deliver the manifesto commitment to provide open-access mental health support through Early Support Hubs in every community for young people up to the age of 25.
Sam Dick, Associate Director of Policy at Centre for Mental Health, said:
“There is no avoiding the fact that, if current trends continue, millions of children and young people will require support for their mental health and far too many will wait far too long to get the support they need.
“What this report demonstrates is that addressing the children and young people’s mental health crisis requires genuine cross-Government action – it cannot simply be seen as a health issue. The forthcoming mental health strategy is an opportunity that must not be missed.
“The first two years of this Government show that with concerted effort and political will, meaningful action has been taken to address both the drivers of poor mental health and the support offered to children and young people. But significant further action is still required over the remainder of this Parliament if the Government is to adequately address the children and young people’s mental health crisis.”
With demand continuing to rise and waiting lists growing, mental health leaders are warning that the next phase of government policy will be critical in determining whether services can meet the needs of the growing number of children and young people seeking support.
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