While today’s budget was one focused on improving NHS waiting times, reducing debt and cutting the cost-of-living crisis, we particularly welcome the announcement of investment in hundreds of new Neighbourhood Health Centres.

This is an important step in delivering accessible, community-based healthcare nationwide, and we know it has the potential to help people access mental health support earlier and before they reach crisis point.

Qualified counsellors and psychotherapists play 'important role'

Martin Bell, our Head of Policy and Public Affairs said:

“It’s great to see a commitment to rolling out Neighbourhood Health Centres. However, for this to succeed, we urge the Government to include qualified counsellors and psychotherapists working alongside other health professionals.

“We know our members have an important role to play in delivering these services as part of multi-disciplinary teams.”

Independent review on youth, health and work

We also noted the confirmation of an independent review, led by Alan Milburn, into young people, health and work. Young people aged 16 to 34 with mental health conditions are 4.7 times more likely to be economically inactive, and this review provides a valuable opportunity to address the barriers they face.

Supporting young people into sustainable work

The announcement comes at a time when youth unemployment remains stubbornly high in many parts of the UK, with long-term lasting effects on mental health, confidence and future earnings.

We must ensure young people have targeted, early mental health support are helped into the right kind of work or work-related activity to help build sustainable health and economic outcomes and reduce the risk of young people being locked out of the labour market. At our roundtable event at the Labour Party conference in September, we explored the vital role that mental health services play in supporting more people into employment.

Mental health barriers to work

Martin continued:

“Our members see daily how mental health conditions keep people out of work or make work unsustainable and we know accessible therapy changes that trajectory for many.

“For too long, employment support has focused on ‘skills’ or ‘job-readiness’ while the mental health barriers to work have remained mostly unaddressed. There has been a longstanding failure to recognise the complex, bi-directional relationship between mental health and employment.

“Unemployment can lead to declining mental health, while existing mental health problems can create barriers to securing or staying in work.

"Nowhere is this more urgent than for young people — particularly those facing unemployment or insecure work — who are too often left to navigate these challenges alone."

Financial stress undermines wellbeing

We also recognise the need to tackle the rising cost of living and welcome the Chancellor’s commitments in this area. Financial stress continues to undermine people’s wellbeing and damages the capacity of services to deliver high-quality counselling and psychotherapy.

Another missed opportunity for mental health investment

However, we are disappointed that the budget once again included no targeted measures to address the serious and escalating mental health challenges affecting people across the country.

We will continue to call on the Government to increase investment to deliver more counselling and psychotherapy across the NHS, schools, the third sector, and workplaces — capacity that is urgently required to  reduce the growing need for mental health support.