Although expenditure on mental health disorders as a whole has risen slightly over the past 10 years, it has actually decreased on children's mental health and now represents only six per cent of the total spend. Average waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is more than three months. Those are the things we know. But the last prevalence survey on children's mental health and wellbeing was carried out 10 years ago. There is no national level information on current local authority social care or education spend in this area.
Even without an up-to-date picture, the last national prevalence survey confirmed the need is clear: 9.6 per cent, or nearly 850,000 children aged five to 16, have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Half of lifetime mental illness (excluding dementia) starts by the age of 14.
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