Depressive Illnesses: Coronavirus

(asked on 18th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of cases of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what steps they intend to take in response to any such assessment.


Answered by
Lord Kamall Portrait
Lord Kamall
This question was answered on 7th December 2021

Analysis by the Office for National Statistics shows that between 21 July to 15 August 2021, 17% of adults surveyed experienced some form of depression. This is a decrease since the survey of 27 January to 7 March 2021 at 21% but above pre-pandemic levels of 10%.

For children and young people, NHS Digital report that rates of probable mental disorders, including depression, have increased since 2017. For 6 to 16 year olds rates have increased from 11.6% to 17.4% and in 17 to 19 year olds from 10.1% to 17.4%. Rates in both age groups remained similar between 2020 and 2021.

We have allocated an additional £500 million through the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan for 2021/22, to ensure the right support is in place, including for people with depression. Of this funding, £110 million will be used to expand adult mental health services including psychological therapies and £79 million to significantly expand children’s mental health services. We are also investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to enable a further two million people to access mental health services.

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