Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:04 pm on 17 October 2018.
Thank you for the question. I note the Prime Minister's recent commitments and, as I said before, I welcome that the current Prime Minister and the previous Prime Minister have been prepared to talk openly about the importance of mental health services. The challenge has always been whether they've been able to match their words with resources and action on the ground. Don't take my word for it, ask practitioners and groups in England, and they'll say that the rhetoric hasn't matched reality. Our challenge here is not just to say that we're not as bad as England but to actually say, 'What can we do to further improve?' That is exactly what we are seeking to do in taking forward the task and finish group in response to the 'Mind over matter' report. I can confirm that it won't just be that there is a focus on children and young people in how we take that work forward, but actually that we will directly involve children and young people in informing our work. Part of that will be evidence the committee has already heard, information we already collect, but also direct, face-to-face engagement with children and young people in different parts of Wales as we look to try and understand how we improve that earlier intervention and support.