Almost 340,000 children on mental health waiting lists as postcode lottery leaves some waiting over a year

EMBARGO: 22:30 Wednesday 29th May

• Liberal Democrats call for a mental health professional in every primary and secondary school
• Ed Davey warns the Conservative party has “abandoned parents and children” as he sets out urgent plan to fix the crisis in young people’s mental health
• 336,886 children on mental health waiting lists, some waiting an average of 15 months to be seen in stark postcode lottery

Almost 340,000 children and young people are on mental health waiting lists with some areas seeing average waits of 15 months, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

To help tackle the crisis in children’s mental health and reduce waiting lists, the Liberal Democrats have announced that their manifesto will include a commitment to a mental health professional in every primary and secondary school. The policy would be funded through a trebling of the Digital Services Tax, which would raise an extra £1.5 billion a year. 

The data exposes a disturbing postcode lottery with average waits for children’s mental health treatment in some areas more than double the national average. Children in St Helens in Merseyside are waiting an average of 444 days on mental health waiting lists, the longest in the country.  Other areas with staggeringly high average waits include Buckinghamshire (378 days), Coventry and Warwickshire (375 days) and Warrington (371 days). The average waiting time for children and young people for mental health treatment is 187 days.

The figures also reveal the areas with the highest number of children on waiting lists for mental health treatment. The worst is in Birmingham and Solihull where more than 17,000 children and young people are on a mental health waiting list. This is followed by Kent and Medway (15,500), Coventry and Warwickshire (15,500) and Southampton and the Isle of Wight (11,100).

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Thousands of children are being left in limbo, forced to suffer intolerably long-waits for mental health treatment. They are being failed by this Conservative government who have neglected the NHS and abandoned parents and children.

“Liberal Democrats would put a dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every school both primary and secondary, funded by a tax on the social media giants that are such a big part of the problem. 

“Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to get rid of this appalling Conservative government and fix the health and care crisis.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The House of Commons Library research can be found here. The figures were compiled from NHS Digital and cover the period from January to March of this year. They show the average waits for children and young people to see a mental health professional after a referral from a GP.

Notes from the House of Commons Library:

There has been no comprehensive routine data on average waiting times for children and young people’s (CYP) mental health services. In recent months, the Mental Health Monthly Statistics publication has begun to publish data on waiting times to access NHS-funded CYP mental health services.

This ‘MH waiting list’ tab in the attached file also includes data on the number of referrals to CYP mental health services that were still waiting for a first care contact at the end of the three-month period ending March 2024, and the median waiting time in days for those who were still waiting. 

In recent months, the Mental Health Monthly Statistics publication has begun to publish data on waiting times between referral and second care contact for community mental health services for adults with serious mental illness. A wider waiting list figure for all adults who are waiting for mental health services is not published.