9. What plans does the Welsh Government have to improve mental health services during the fifth Assembly? OAQ(5)0155(FM)

We’ve made a number of commitments around mental health and well-being in the programme for government, and we will shortly be publishing the next three-year plan to deliver our mental health strategy, ‘Together for Mental Health’.

Thank you for the reply, First Minister. In 2014, the Children, Young People and Education Committee published a report of the inquiry into child and adolescent mental health services. The committee found that there was a 100 per cent increase in referrals for these services, but that the provision was insufficient to meet this increase. In recent meetings with the committee, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales said that the Together for Children and Young People group, dedicated to reforming mental health services for children and young people, has only met once since the group’s inception. Even though the Welsh Government increased funding by £7 million to the services, there is no explicit commitment in the programme for government to reform CAMHS. Throwing money at the problem won’t make it disappear. Will the First Minister commit to reforming these services and explain how he will do it?

I disagree with the Member. It did need an injection of money; that’s happened. We are seeing the benefits. Fewer children are being cared for out of the area. The waiting times for specialist CAMHS services are down by 21 per cent. And, of course, new services for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism are being established across Wales. There’s more to do, of course, but we are seeing real improvements for children with mental health problems.