Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve mental health services for young people.

The Government is determined to make sure children and young people get the mental health care they need, and are taking a number of steps to address this.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce was launched in August 2014 to look at how to improve children and young people’s access to mental health services which are more responsive to their needs. It will focus on innovative solutions to improve access to help and support across the sectors, including in schools, through voluntary organisations and online. The Taskforce will report next spring.

The Department has invested £7 million in new Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services specialised Tier 4 beds, £54 million into the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme and £3 million in MindEd, which provides clear guidance on children and young people's mental health, wellbeing and development to any adult working with children, young people and families. The Department is seeking to procure a new survey of child and adolescent mental health. We are also introducing a new waiting time standard to make sure young people with psychosis get prompt treatment.

Public Health England has recently published a framework that addresses the mental health of young people, commissioning the Institute of Health Equity to produce evidence based briefings on parenting programmes and publishing a briefing for head teachers which makes the link between education attainment and pupil health and wellbeing.

Public Health England will also be publishing a framework for local authorities to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for young people aged 10 – 24. In all these products, mental health and wellbeing are key features.