Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of living on the mental health of young people.

The Department is acutely aware of the impact of the cost of living on mental health. Information on the support available to help with the cost of living is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/cost-of-living

Through the NHS Long Term Plan, the Government continues to expand and transform mental health services in England, so that more young people get the support they need for their mental health. We will also help thousands of young people into work through the £795 million expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.

Furthermore, there are around 65 locally funded Early Support Hubs in England. These hubs will support young people aged 11 to 25 years old who are experiencing anxiety or stress, including those who need support around financial circumstances. On 25 October we announced £4.92 million of new funding to deliver and evaluate innovative community-based mental health and wellbeing support for young people at 10 sites across England until the end of 2024/25.