Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 5 February (HL13750), what is the evidence base that there is a stigma around mental health in schools that requires intervention by the Government.

The importance of reducing the stigma around mental health is widely recognised, backed up by evidence such as the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health, published in 2022, and is frequently highlighted as a key issue by stakeholders and service users. The findings are available on the Lancet Commission’s website.

The initial Mental Health Support Team (MHST) evaluation, the Early evaluation of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Trailblazer programme from 2023, and the more recently published Findings from surveys of schools and colleges and Mental Health Support Teams from 2025, both found overwhelmingly positive support for MHSTs from education staff. This data is available on page 21 of the attached document.