5 February 2025
New research released today warns that the mental health crisis facing children and young people will prevent the Government from its mission of boosting economic growth and productivity as well as impacting the lives of thousands of young people. The research estimates that the long-term impact of mental health problems in childhood now costs the UK over £1 trillion in lifetime lost earnings.
The research is published as part of the launch of a new campaign bringing together four of the UK’s leading children and young people’s and mental health organisations – Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, and YoungMinds, with the support of the Prudence Trust – which is urging the Government to deliver urgent reform and investment to boost children’s mental health services in its forthcoming Spending Review and 10 Year NHS Plan.
Today’s campaign comes at a time of unprecedented crisis in children and young people’s mental health. One in five children and young people now experience a common mental health problem such as anxiety or depression. The number of young people in contact with mental health services has never been higher, and yet around 60% of children considered to have a diagnosable mental health condition have no contact with NHS-funded mental health services.
Children and young people’s mental health services continue to be considerably under-funded relative to demand. Millions of families across the country are experiencing the everyday reality of a young person living in distress.
The campaign argues that acting to reverse the youth mental health crisis won’t just support the Government to deliver its health mission, it will be critical to Labour’s growth, opportunity, and safer streets missions too.
Research by the Future Minds Campaign reveals the failure to boost support for children and young people with mental health problems is having a huge impact on the economy, on children’s education, on the children’s social care system, and is a major cause of concern for parents.
The Future Minds Campaign argues that reform of mental health care for children and young people could yield huge benefits in efficiency and clinical outcomes. It is 100 times cheaper to treat a young person in the community compared to an inpatient setting, and the Government’s commitment to shift from hospital to community care presents a major opportunity to seize these savings. However, change in these systems will be impossible without upfront investment.
Ahead of the Government’s Spending Review, the Future Minds Campaign is calling for:
Andy Bell, Chief Executive at Centre for Mental Health, said: “Mental health difficulties in children and young people cast a long shadow that can last a lifetime without the right support. Yet children and young people’s services are underfunded, and levels of distress are rising markedly, leaving many thousands of children facing unacceptably long waiting times for support.
“The risks and gaps are biggest for the most disadvantaged and marginalised groups of young people.
“The Government can and must act now to turn things around. By investing in children’s mental health services, the Government can make sure that the mental health of another generation of young people is not left to chance.”
Baroness Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives and a former Children’s Commissioner for England, said: “One in five children and young people now experience a mental health problem – almost double the 2017 figure. This decline in young people’s mental health is one of the biggest health, social and economic challenges of our time.
“Failing to adequately address it creates far costlier outcomes across a range of public services, including in health, education, welfare, policing and justice. It harms productivity, earnings and the Government’s agenda for economic growth. Current trends are simply not sustainable.
“Our organisations are joining together in this unprecedented way because we believe the next Spending Review and the Government’s next 10 Year NHS Plan must include a bold and ambitious plan for reform and investment in children and young people’s mental health services and support.
“It is wishful thinking to hope that this crisis is a cultural phenomenon or a result of over-medicalisation. Parents, health professionals, teachers, and children themselves see and experience it every day. They know how poor mental health is holding back the life chances of so many of our young people.
“The Prime Minister’s own priorities already provide opportunities to prioritise children and young people’s mental health and to reverse these worrying trends. There are proven cost-effective models of care that could have a transformative effect on young people’s health and our economy with the right levels of investment.
“The cost of doing nothing would be a disaster for those children struggling with mental health problems, but also for our nation, by seriously impeding many of the Government’s crucial missions and ambitions.”
Laura Bunt, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said: “Growing up today is incredibly tough. Many young people are experiencing an avalanche of pressures which impact their mental health, including poverty, intense academic pressure, the online world and their future security. In the last 8 years, the numbers of young people in need of mental health support have soared, and despite increasing awareness, services remain significantly underfunded and unable to meet a growing unmet need.
“The cost to an individual young person who is struggling with their mental health without the right support is devastating, and the toll is felt on families, friends and the communities around them.
“But it also has a huge cost to the economy, one that will impact the whole of society. As this new research lays bare, failure to address this emergency impacts all parts of a young person’s life and the Government’s agenda for economic growth.
“It doesn’t need to be this way, this Government has a real opportunity to show they are ambitious about young people and their mental health. By acting now, they can make a difference to thousands of young people’s lives, and protect the Government’s economic ambitions.”
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