Children’s Mental Health — House of Commons, 2022-02-08
Topic: Health
Robert Butler (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) and her very constructive comments I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate on children’s mental health. It is a subject that has thankfully received much more attention in recent years and is discussed far more openly by children themselves, and by their parents and teachers, and healthcare professionals. Children’s Mental Health Week is an excellent way to shine a spotlight on the importance of young people’s mental wellbeing. This year it is particularly appropriate to do so given the tremendous challenges that children have faced during the pandemic In Aylesbury, the formidable charity Youth Concern has highlighted mental health problems among young people in Buckinghamshire. The charity supports a wide range of young people, from those who require low-level support to those who have had major relationship breakdowns at home. It provides counselling services, which can be of significant benefit to those who do not reach the threshold for a referral to child and adolescent mental health services, or CAMHS. I commend everyone at Youth Concern for the difference they make to young people’s lives in my constituency I would also like to take this opportunity to thank teachers and parents across the constituency of Aylesbury for all they did to look after children at a time of such intense disruption in the pandemic, especially when pupils could not go to school for face-to-face lessons and instead had to learn at home. That is why I am so pleased that the Government focused on getting all children back into the classroom, ensuring that they could get the world-class education they deserve. It was this party and this Government who delivered on our promise to prioritise education, and the first step of the road map for leaving lockdown saw the return of all pupils to schools and colleges in March. That was a very welcome step, because Buckinghamshire Council’s education team, despite doing an incredible job over the past two years, has witnessed considerable increases in mental health issues among pupils, which has in turn put further pressure on local CAMHS I absolutely acknowledge that waiting times for help from CAMHS are too long, but that cannot be resolved overnight. There have been shortages of qualified clinicians for a very long time. I would respectfully suggest to Labour Members that it is simplistic to suggest that guarantees of an appointment within one month could be delivered One of the reasons I was keen to speak in today’s debate was my previous involvement in the youth justice system. I take this opportunity to declare my interest as a former board member of the Youth Justice Board, former non-executive director of HMPPS, former youth magistrate and member of the Sentencing Council. As the Justice Committee said in our recently published report on children and young people in custody, it is generally recognised that around a third of children in custody report a known mental health disorder. That is an absolutely shocking proportion, and it is very important to recognise the immense efforts of those who work in the youth secure estate to care for those young people, because that is not what our youth custody estate is designed for I am pleased to say that over the past few years much has been done to improve provision for children with mental health needs in custody. NHS England and NHS Improvement have led on the development of a framework for integrated care called SECURE STAIRS. That is being delivered in partnership with the Department for Education, the Youth Custody Service and the Ministry of Justice. It is a psychologically informed, trauma-based framework for integrated care that creates a single plan around the child. It is exactly what we need and it is exactly what is being done. It is based on the idea that every interaction matters and input from every member of staff is fundamental. As it was put to us by the NHS, from the top of the Youth Custody Service to the cleaners and the cooks, every interaction matters, and its focus on the child’s story, not on their diagnosis, their offence or any other label This is a clear demonstration of the Government recognising the requirement for specific support for a cohort of children with mental health needs, and then bringing together all the relevant organisations to deliver that help. Labour Members have been quick to criticise the Government, but the NHS long-term plan is clear that over the coming decade the goal is to ensure that 100% of children and young people who need specialist care can access it. Mental health support for children and young people will be embedded in schools and colleges. So far from the picture painted of strife and woe, this Conservative Government have grasped the nettle, are delivering on their promises and are taking action to ensure that all children and young people have a strong start in life.