Mental Health Services: Children
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to support mental health services for children in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
We know that waits for children and young people's (CYP) mental health services are far too long, including in Bedfordshire. That is why the NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that one of the priorities for children's mental health services is to reduce inequalities in access to CYP mental health services.
The Government will also recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across children and adult mental health services and provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through expanding Mental Health Support Teams, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.
Early intervention and prevention support in the community is vital. That is why we are providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community.
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