Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 9 October 2018.
I'd be extremely disappointed if secondary schools weren't providing the service that they're meant to provide. I think the—. I've said in the Chamber before how much money we put into the child and adolescent mental health service, but I think where the emphasis has to go now, and what we're looking at, is what happens in that gap between the counselling services and CAMHS. Many young people won't go and see a counsellor in school because it's a little bit too close to home and people think that people will find out about it, and many young people don't actually need the kind of medical intervention that CAMHS provides. So, the emphasis now is going to be on: how do we provide a level of counselling services outside of school for those who would benefit from that service without having to go into CAMHS? So, as far as the 2019-20 draft budget proposals are concerned, they do refer to planned investment in CAMHS, but that will be targeted at meeting the needs of those who don't need the most specialist treatment and to meet the needs of that missing middle. I think that's where we have to ensure that no gap exists.