GB-London: Progress on children and young people's mental health policy in England

A range of policies have been announced regarding children's mental health in England over the past decade. However, the scale of children's mental health needs remains of real concern to councils, schools, families and young people themselves, particularly given the impact of the pandemic, school closures and the current Cost of Living crisis.

Policies include (but not limited to) the Five Year Forward View, the 2017 Green Paper Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health, the NHS Long Term Plan, and post Covid-19 recovery.

Children's mental health has also been highlighted in recent announcements including the Family Hubs and Best Start for Life, Schools White Paper and Special Educational Needs Green Paper. The government is currently developing its 10-year strategy for mental health (all-age).

However, many of the recommendations within these policies have been slow to be implemented or may not go far enough to tackle the rising demand of mental health need that we see today.

This report will explore the announcements and steps taken to tackle the rising demand in children's mental health, the progress that has been made and what else needs to happen to ensure that central government, local government, NHS and wider partners are able to tackle children's mental health needs in England.

Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.