Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

(asked on 25th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve mental health support for children and young people in (a) Southport constituency and (b) England.


Answered by
Nadine Dorries Portrait
Nadine Dorries
This question was answered on 3rd June 2021

In the West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area, which includes Southport constituency, children and parents can now self-refer into local child and adolescent mental health services and these services cover 0 to 19 year olds. The CCG has developed the local Healthy Young Minds website and a 24 hours a day, seven days a week helpline to provide information on access, urgent help and links to self help and support for family members and carers. Kooth have been commissioned to provide online live digital support and access to materials to support a young person with their mental health. Children and young people’s mental health services in the area will receive additional investment in 2021 and beyond to improve access and crisis support. This includes the establishment of a school-based mental health support team from January 2022.

Nationally, the NHS Long Term Plan invests a further £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by 2023/24, which will see an additional 345,000 children and young people a year able to access support through National Health Service-funded services including school and college-based mental health support teams by 2023/24. We have also announced an additional £79 million in this financial year to significantly accelerate this planned expansion of children and young people’s mental health services.

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