We want our Parliament to: Recognise that our minds matter, and improve the access to and quality of our mental health services.

Our Vision: We believe that the Government needs to do more to address mental health challenges faced by young people. We believe that the stigma surrounding mental health prevents many young people from seeking support, and that help and advice is often scarce. Greater investment needs to be made to ensure that support and care is; age-appropriate, youth-friendly and accessible both locally and nationally for 16-25 year olds. We also believe that the Government must ensure measures are developed to raise the availability and quality of youth mental health provisions across the UK. This will help tackle the postcode lottery of provision.

Key Facts:

●       One in eight 5 to 19-year olds experience at least one clinically diagnosable mental health problem (Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, NHS Digital, 2017)

●       Half of all lifetime cases of psychiatric disorders start by age 14 and three quarters by age 24 (Key Data on Adolescence 2013, Association from Young People’s Health, 2013)

●       There continues to be a post-code lottery of early help provision. For example, analysis by the Children’s Commissioner for England has found that local areas allocated a total of £226 million for low-level mental health services in 2018/19, just over £14 per child. (Early access to mental health support, Children’s Commissioner, April 2019)

●       Research shows that children and young people go an average of ten years between first showing signs of mental health problems and getting any help. Every day opportunities are being missed to help these children. (Missed Opportunities, Centre for Mental Health, June 2016)