7. Will the First Minister make a statement on mental health services for young people? OAQ(5)0656(FM)W

By now, we have seen the impact of the programme of improvements that we are taking forward as part of the delivery of ‘Together for Mental Health’, supported by an additional £8 million per annum for children and young people’s mental health services.

I was particularly pleased some weeks ago to have a conversation with Laura Burton, a young woman from Anglesey who volunteers her time for Time to Change and is doing excellent work in pressing for improvements in mental health services. I agreed with her that we certainly need to do more to change the attitudes of young people towards mental health, but also that an increase in awareness has to go hand in hand with investment in resources and adequate funding. Now, in terms of resources, does the First Minister agree with me that it’s unacceptable that Anglesey has been left without a consultant psychiatrist at all for adults between the ages of 18 and 65—something that affects Laura, like many other people? And does the First Minister also agree that, in terms of awareness, we need to do far more to invest in mental health education for young people in order to raise awareness among that group?

There is a counsellor in every secondary school in order to assist, of course, but some young people could do with more support. That is why we’ve invested £8 million per annum into CAMHS. So, if we look at the Betsi Cadwaladr area, including Ynys Môn, of course, we know that the number awaiting an assessment has gone down from 669 to 90 in a year, a reduction of 86 per cent, and that is what the investment has given us.

First Minister, the ‘Making Sense’ report was published in tandem with the Making Sense initiative, which is supported by the High Needs Collaborative and the Wales Observatory on Human Rights of Children and Young People. This report highlighted that, for many young people, support for the transition into adult services is non-existent. In fact, young people say that they are ill-prepared for the way that adult services operate, which is quite different to the way that CAMHS operates. It’s a scenario borne out by many cases that have come to me in my own constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire. First Minister, can you clarify what the Welsh Government intends to do to ensure that that transition, which is a tricky time for children becoming young people and young people becoming adults in all sorts of different areas, from education through to health services, is particularly looked at and reviewed to help those who need the support of professionals, such as adult services and children and adolescent mental health?

Yes, that transition is important, but we have ensured that the funding has been made available for third sector partners to ensure that young people with the most severe mental illnesses are supported into social, education, and employment opportunities. But, of course, with regard to the extra CAMHS funding, what that is designed to do, of course, is make sure that young people get the help that they need at the time they need it, so they don’t have to rely—some will of course, but they don’t have to rely on adult mental health services in the future.