The Mental Health and Well-Being of Young People

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:31 pm on 2 December 2020.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 2:31, 2 December 2020

Our young people have faced so many strains this year, uncertainty about exams, not being able to see friends, their normal routines just disappearing, and we know, as has been said, that the pandemic will have taken an inevitable toll on their mental health. But the most recent figures on NHS spending for 2018-19 show that less than 1 per cent of NHS funding was spent on children and young people's mental health. Per head of population, children and young people's mental health received just £18.17 per person that year, and this when we know from Mind that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year. Clearly, our young people need far more investment in their well-being. So, will you assure me that the forthcoming Welsh budget commits resources that will meet the scale and the ambition needed to improve services and support?