Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:15 pm on 27 September 2016.
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?