Mental health support for children and young people debated in the Lords
24 November 2023
On Thursday 23 November, members of the House of Lords debated the current state of mental health support for children and young people in England.
Debate
Earl Russell (Liberal Democrat), member of the Lewisham Council Fostering Panel, put forward the subject for debate.
During general debates, members can put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.
Members speaking
Contributing members included:
- Baroness Hollins (Crossbench), former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Lord Laming (Crossbench), former chief inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate
- Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat), former primary school headteacher
- Baroness Wheeler (Labour), Lords opposition spokesperson for health and social care.
Baroness Hale of Richmond (Crossbench), former president of the Supreme Court of the UK, made her maiden speech in the House of Lords during this debate.
Opening the debate, Earl Russell said:
'We are facing a young persons’ mental health emergency. The systems in place are not working; there is a need for a full root-and-branch review and reform of the systems and services.'
Responding on behalf of the government, Lord Markham (Conservative), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:
'I think we are absolutely united on the need for early detection. We have made good progress on mental health provision and identification in schools, which has gone up from about a quarter to over a third of schools, with a target of over 50% in the next year to 18 months.'
Get involved
Watch and read the debate
Catch up on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript.
Explore further information
Find our more about the issues discussed in the House of Lords Library briefing.
Image: Yan Krukau / Pexels
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