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.