Part of 4. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 1:13 pm on 1 July 2020.
Thank you, Minister. I welcome any funding for the mental health implications of the pandemic, but I do believe it is vital that those are additional allocations, and I was very concerned to see that £7 million had been removed from the mental health service improvement fund in the supplementary budget. Now, I'm sure all Members recognise that we have a very long way to go in Wales in delivering parity between mental and physical health. There have been two landmark reports in this Assembly: the Children, Young People and Education Committee's 'Mind over matter' report on children's mental health, and the health committee's 'Everybody's Business' report on suicide prevention. The loss of life to suicide remains a major public health emergency. What assurances can you offer, Minister, that you will continue to prioritise not just the response to the pandemic, but the very important service transformation that we want to see in adult and children's mental health in Wales? Thank you.