Written statement: Mental Health Strategy for England - May 19

Health Minister (Preet Kaur Gill): Today, I am informing the House of the government's plans to develop a new, once-in-a-generation cross-government strategy for mental health in England, which will be published later this year. The strategy will be informed by a call for evidence, alongside wider engagement, including through the ongoing independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, and the Modern Service Framework for Severe Mental Illness. The call for evidence launched on Friday 15 May and will close on Friday 10 July.

Good mental health is central to our overall health, wellbeing and ability to participate fully in education, work and community life. Yet far too many people are experiencing mental health problems and distress, with over a quarter of young people now estimated to have a common mental health condition like depression or anxiety.

The government has already taken significant steps to improve mental health services. We have taken through landmark reform of the Mental Health Act, met our manifesto commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 additional mental health staff three years early, and we are expanding Mental Health Support Teams to reach every school and college by 2029. This is backed by a record £16.1 billion forecast to be spent on NHS mental health services this year.

However, we know that there is more to do, within and beyond the NHS. Demand for mental health support has risen rapidly, with long waits and too many people unable to access the right support when they need it. Despite sustained investment, systems remain too often reactive, fragmented, and variable, with outcomes that fall short of what people and communities need.

It is time to go further and take a new approach. We want a mental health system and society that responds earlier and more proportionately to need, providing the right tools and intervening before distress escalates to crisis. We want a system organised around participation, not thresholds, where people can access timely, practical support that matches their needs and circumstances, and where support is joined up, with no wrong front door.

The 10 Year Health Plan set out an ambitious vision for reform of the NHS, centred around 3 strategic shifts: (1) hospital to community; (2) analogue to digital: and (3) sickness to prevention. The Mental Health Strategy is the next stage of this government's programme of reform, and it will be informed by the independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism. This review, chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy and engaging with experts in the field, including people with lived experience, will make recommendations on how to shift from a system that responds late and is overly focused on diagnosis, to one that responds earlier, more proportionately, and with improving participation in education and work in mind.

The government has launched a call for evidence(opens in a new tab) to build on the 10 Year Health Plan engagement and collate practical implementation evidence with a focus on how we can turn our vision into action. We welcome examples of good practice, from across the UK and internationally, and from across sectors, including schools, workplaces and community settings. Input is encouraged from the mental health sector and beyond, clinicians, local leaders, and Parliamentarians.

The mental health needs of autistic people and people with ADHD will also be reflected within the mental health strategy. We know that autistic people and people with ADHD people face a much higher risk of developing a mental health condition, and that there is a need for integrated and equitable access to mental health services and support that is responsive to their needs, including appropriate adjustments to how services are designed and delivered.

Separately, we will develop and publish a new cross-government autism strategy, as required under the Autism Act 2009. This will be informed by all relevant evidence, reviews and reports, including the recommendations from the House of Lords Autism Act 2009 Inquiry Committee report and the ongoing independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism. As part of this work, we will consider and seek the views of stakeholders as to whether the new autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

The strategy will be aligned with relevant Modern Service Frameworks and the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England.

Transforming the mental health system will take time, but we are committed to delivering a new approach that enables people to stay well, participate fully in society, and access the right support at the right time.