Councils cut back on young people's mental health services

The survey by mental health charity YoungMinds found that 34 of the 51 councils that took part had cut their spending on CAMHS since May 2010.

The biggest reported fall in funding by an authority was 76 per cent over the period.

Local authorities fund educational psychologists, parenting programmes and some specialist social workers through their CAMHS budgets.

Some also pay for targeted mental health services in schools and voluntary sector support, including youth counselling services, child protection teams and looked-after children services.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive of YoungMinds, said that in light of research showing that three children in every classroom has a diagnosable mental health problem, these cuts are jeopardising young people’s wellbeing.

“Early intervention is vital in order to identify problems quickly before they worsen and before referrals for more specialist services are needed,” she said.

“As well as reducing the suffering that young people may be experiencing, intervening early also reduces the need for more expensive forms of treatment when problems become more serious and entrenched."

Brennan said that while the government's spending on children and young people’s talking therapies was welcome, efforts to address mental health problems must go beyond the actions of the Department of Health.

“Local authorities who are supporting early intervention services must realise the vital role they have to play in supporting young people’s mental health," she said.

YoungMinds is calling for local authorities to ensure that local services work together with joint commissioning and joined-up delivery between schools, local authorities, CAMHS and clinical commissioning groups.

The charity says a "strategic approach" to early intervention will reduce expensive, intensive services when young people’s mental health problems become more serious.