Tax Social Media Companies to Pay for Mental Health Support – Welsh Liberal Democrats

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have outlined their plans to support mental health today, stating that social media companies should pay triple the tax they currently do with the profits going towards supporting mental health.

The Party has pointed out that multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media use and an increased risk of suffering from poor mental health, especially among young people. 

The Party’s proposals would see the Digital Services Tax on social media firms and other tech giants increased from its current rate of 2% to 6%. This would raise £2.09 billion in additional revenue at a UK level. 

Among the Party’s key promises to improve mental health is the promise to introduce a dedicated mental health professional in every school.

Other commitments for young people include introducing a statutory Student Mental Health Charter; requiring universities to make mental health services accessible to their students and establishing mental health hubs for young people.

The Liberal Democrats have also called for the extension of young people’s mental health services overall, ensuring that services are provided up to the age of 25 and the drop-off experienced by young people transitioning to adult services is ended. 

The Party has also promised to modernise the Mental Health Act to strengthen people’s rights and introduce regular mental health check-ups at key points in people’s lives when they are most vulnerable to mental ill-health such as post-pregnancy. 

Party Leader Jane Dodds has also pledged to use the additional income to see more mental health support in rural communities, ending the need to travel far out areas in rural Wales to get mental health support. 

Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:

“Across Wales, thousands of people are being left in limbo being forced to suffer intolerably long waits for mental health treatment. They are being failed by a Labour Government in Cardiff Bay who mismanage our NHS and a Conservative Government in Westminster who fail to tackle the causes of poor mental health. 

The Welsh 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 at the heart of the decline in mental health amongst our young people.

We would also use the revenue to give people of all ages regular mental health check-ups at key stages in their life and to ensure people in rural areas can access mental health services without travelling huge distances.”