Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 3:07 pm on 2 December 2020.
I think you're absolutely right, David. All the evidence that we've seen suggests that there's going to be a real problem down the road, unless we address it very early. And that's exactly what we're trying to do. We've put in £2.7 million of additional funding to provide immediate access to a really broad range of low-level mental health support. And it's clear that anxiety comes in lots of different shapes, and it's caused by lots of different things. One of those things is the economic situation, and that's not going to get any better any time soon. We know that there's a direct correlation between an economic problem and the incidence of mental health, and so we can almost map out what's likely to happen in future, which is why really addressing the issue before it becomes a big problem is, I think, the way to do this.
Mental health issues, right from the beginning of the pandemic, we've said are essential services so there shouldn't have been any reduction in terms of support there. We're trying our best to reduce the socioeconomic impacts, most recently in relation to hospitality. There are a lot of young people who work in this sector, many of whom, perhaps, are on zero-hours contracts who won't have a great Christmas now as a result of the fact that we, unfortunately, have had to take quite drastic measures. But the least we can do then is to stand by them and to make sure that there is support for them when it comes to mental health. And then the other thing is to make sure that we are projecting and looking at what is likely to be needed in the future, and we are supporting health boards to make sure that they can start preparing for a very different approach in future.