Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve access to and (b) reduce waiting times for counselling for children and young people.

We are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24, which will allow an extra 345,000 more children and young people to get the National Health Service-funded mental health support they need.

There are now almost 400 mental health support teams in place in schools and colleges across England so that more young people get mental health support. Mental health support teams now cover over three million children or around 35% of pupils in schools and colleges. We are aiming to increase this coverage to 50% by April 2025.

There are currently approximately 65 locally funded early support hubs in England. These hubs are open to those aged between 11 and 25 years old and, importantly, they are for anyone who may not meet the threshold to receive NHS support. This means children and young people experiencing feelings of anxiety or stress will have a physical space to go to in their community when their problems first emerge without the need for a referral.

On 25 October 2023, we announced £4.92 million of new funding to deliver and evaluate innovative mental health and wellbeing support for young people at 10 hub sites across England until the end of 2024/25. Bids are currently being considered and the ten successful hubs will be announced in due course.