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 2:29 pm on 2 December 2020.

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Photo of Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay Conservative 2:29, 2 December 2020

Diolch, Gweinidog. I'm pleased you mentioned that strategy and the need to keep policies updated with the ongoing pandemic. The lockdowns have clearly had an increasing impact on people's mental health, including young people. According to a recent report published by the Samaritans in England in October, people who self-harm face unreasonable barriers to accessing mental health services, and they are caught between being deemed too high risk for primary mental health services, while not ill enough to access secondary mental health services. We know that this is also the case in Wales, and this disproportionately affects the younger generation. What discussions have you had with groups like the Samaritans, and other stakeholders in this area, and what plans are you going to put in place to ensure that this growing problem is dealt with?