Over a third of local areas in England reduce real terms spending on low level children’s mental health services Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has published a report looking at the amount spent on “low-level” mental health support for children in England.
The Children’s Commissioner’s research is the first time any organisation has collected data to show how much is being spent by areas in England on low level mental health. It reveals that local areas, which included both local authorities and NHS spending, allocated a total of £226 million for low-level mental health services in 2018/19, just over £14 per child.
The report shows there were wide variations between areas in how much funding is available: the top 25% of local areas spent at least £1.1 million or more, while the bottom 25% spent £180,000 or less. This postcode lottery comes at a time when the Government has made more funding available for children’s mental health nationally as the number of children in need of support and treatment from children’s mental health services has increased over the last decade.
See also:
The Children’s Commissioner’s research is the first time any organisation has collected data to show how much is being spent by areas in England on low level mental health. It reveals that local areas, which included both local authorities and NHS spending, allocated a total of £226 million for low-level mental health services in 2018/19, just over £14 per child.
The report shows there were wide variations between areas in how much funding is available: the top 25% of local areas spent at least £1.1 million or more, while the bottom 25% spent £180,000 or less. This postcode lottery comes at a time when the Government has made more funding available for children’s mental health nationally as the number of children in need of support and treatment from children’s mental health services has increased over the last decade.
See also:
- Early access to mental health support (report) Children’s Commissioner for England
- Children's mental health services 'postcode lottery' BBC News
- Teenagers with mental health conditions are being turned away by the NHS, officials warn The Daily Mail
- Children who need help with mental health face postcode lottery – study The Guardian
- Child 'drank bleach after being denied help' as mental health services see spending cut across England The Independent
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