Debate contribution: Children’s Mental Health: Cross-departmental Cooperation
Debate contribution by Mr Colin Crawford on .
- MLA
- Mr Colin Crawford
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 30 September 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Children’s Mental Health: Cross-departmental Cooperation
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4564143
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Every opportunity to talk about mental health is welcome. That is especially the case today when we are considering the importance of good mental health among our children and young people. Mental health and well-being more generally is much better recognised and understood today than it was only a few years ago. As with many aspects of care, mental health and its impacts weigh heavily across many Departments. That is why it is so important that cross-departmental working is referenced in the motion. Poor mental health can grip lives, test even the strongest of family relationships and destabilise and disrupt a young person's education, as well as being a major strain on our economic firepower. Indeed, on the latter point, the estimated cost of mental health in Northern Ireland is £3·4 billion. Mental health impacts young and old and everyone in between; it reaches across the full lifespan. As with so many issues, the earlier the problems are identified, the better the outcomes are for everyone, and it is better still if the problems are avoided. There is a mountain of evidence that supports the consideration of early intervention and preventative measures. That is why, when reading the 10-year mental health strategy, I very much welcome the clear focus on promoting the positive mental health of children and their families. Whilst I am sure that we would all like to see the strategy receive the funding that it deserves, as well as the funding that was pledged by all political parties, it is important that we make sure that we use every penny in the best possible way. Nevertheless, the strategy is explicit in including such outcomes as better resilience among children and young people; helping people to cope with mental wellness and, therefore, preventing mental ill health; and all children and young people receiving the care and treatment that they need, when they need it. Another important outcome in the context of children's mental health is the commitment to deliver a longer-term improvement in CAMHS. Thankfully, some good progress has been made through the allocation of additional funding to assist with increasing capacity and enhancing the current provision. Of course, the Ulster Unionist Party is fully supportive of the necessity to increase CAMHS funding to 10% of adult mental health funding. As I said at the start, huge progress has been made in recent years, and those discussions are much more common than they were, but, of course, there is much more to be done.
416 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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