- Today’s spending commitments by the Chancellor represent good first steps, but the UK government’s planned benefits cuts will put vulnerable disabled people’s mental health at risk
- Announcements on investment in prevention of poor mental health, measures in schools, ending the use of asylum hotels, and anti-poverty measures will make a positive difference to some people’s lives and help prevent poor mental health
The Mental Health Foundation focuses on the prevention of mental health problems. Parts of the Spending Review that are notable for its work include:
- Greater investment in prevention of poor mental health, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools
- The end of the use of ‘asylum hotels’ as temporary accommodation for people seeking asylum
- Anti-poverty measures, such as the expansion of free school meals
The charity has responded to those specific topics, as well as the Spending Review as a whole.
Commenting on the announcements, Mark Rowland, Chief Executive at the Mental Health Foundation, said:
On prevention of poor mental health:
“The Chancellor's emphasis on preventing mental health problems is hugely welcome. Trying to treat our way out of the UK’s mental health crisis is like trying to stop a flood while the tap is still on - and it is now clear that the government has recognised this fact. The increase in funding for the NHS is welcome and much needed, but the upcoming NHS 10-year Plan must make clear how much of this will be directed to mental health and prevention.
“In particular, we’re pleased to see the expansion of Mental Health Support Teams in schools, which will serve as an early intervention service, but also have the potential to take on a broader role, driving a whole-school approach that prevents problems before they emerge through measures such as anti-bullying programmes.
“It’s also very positive to see spending commitments in areas we know support mental health, such as improved parks and exercise facilities, better access to social housing, and the provision of breakfast clubs for children. Preventative measures such as these help protect the building blocks of good mental health – such as having a safe home, a full stomach, and access to green spaces – and can reduce pressure on health services in the long run. However, these policies need to be better coordinated between UK government departments, which is why a comprehensive, cross-government strategy on mental health is essential if we want to maximise the effectiveness of these measures and create a country where nobody has to struggle with poor mental health.”
On the end of the use of ‘asylum hotels’:
“Absolutely nobody in the country is satisfied with the UK government spending billions on poor quality hotel accommodation that fuels the mental health crisis among asylum seekers. Asylum seekers almost always wait far too long for a decision on their cases, without the right to work or any recourse to public funds. This comes at great cost to their own health, and to the taxpayer, and so the ambition to reduce the case backlog is much-needed and very welcome.
“This announcement should be coupled with other actions that can support asylum seekers’ mental health such as granting them the right to work after 6 months, which would deliver billions of pounds of benefits for the Treasury, allow for greater integration in communities, and improve the wellbeing of asylum seekers in the UK.”
On anti-poverty measures, such as the expansion of free school meals:
“It should be a source of shame for the UK that so many young people grow up in poverty which damages their mental health. Measures announced today, such as the commitment to expand Free Schools Meals to all pupils in England with a parent on universal credit, the cap on the number of branded school uniform items, and the new Crisis and Resilience Fund, are how we begin to tackle this shameful situation. We are pleased to see the UK government taking its commitment to lower child poverty seriously, and now they must follow up by removing the two-child benefit cap and give millions of children a more financially stable, mentally healthier future.
On the spending review as a whole:
“Many of the measures in today’s Spending Review are welcome, and will make a very real difference to the lives of people on lower incomes, helping to improve their mental health. However, this welcome must be tempered by the fact that, for many financially vulnerable disabled people, these positive impacts will be wiped out by the looming threat of cuts to Personal Independence Payment.
“The UK government cannot make progress in some areas while leaving disabled people behind, but that is exactly what their current plans will do. We urge the UK government to focus on the positive reforms to the benefits system that will help people return to work, rather than continuing with damaging cuts to PIP that will threaten disabled people’s mental health.”