London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

The letter warns that we face “the worst” mental health crisis for children and adolescents “in our lifetimes”

Young London SOS: Tackle child mental health crisis now, experts tell ministers

Medical experts, campaigners and bosses of the biggest mental health and youth charities in the UK have issued a clarion call for Government to “fundamentally rethink priorities” in the face of the children’s mental health crisis sparked by the pandemic.

They have co-signed a letter to the Evening Standard warning that we face “the worst” mental health crisis for children and adolescents “in our lifetimes” and have called on the Government to invest in “prevention rather than cure”.

The letter backs our Young London SOS campaign. Led by Catherine Roche, chief executive of Place2Be, it is signed by the heads of 35 organisations, including Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Michael Samuel, chairman of Anna Freud Centre, and Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane. The bosses of major mental health charities Mind, YoungMinds, NSPCC and Childline, Mental Health UK and The Prince’s Trust are also signatories.

Timed to coincide with Children’s Mental Health Week which runs all of this week, the letter says: “The UK’s children’s mental health system is in need of serious repair: On average local NHS clinical commissioning groups spend less than one per cent of their overall budget on children’s mental health and 14 times more on adult mental health services than on services for children.”

Government must avoid “a quick fix to the crisis”, the signatories warn. They add: “Covid is a stark reminder of the vital importance of planning and prevention. As we start to look at what’s needed to recover and re-build post Covid, it is time to find a long-term solution to the mental health needs of the nation.

“This is not about a quick fix to the crisis. It’s about all sectors — education, health, public, voluntary and private — working together to rethink priorities, rethink society and the investment needed to future-proof the wellbeing of the next generation.”

Other signatories include child poverty and inequality charities such as Greenhouse Sports, Trust for London, Fair Education Alliance, The Childhood Trust and Onside Youth Zones. It was also signed by mental health umbrella bodies, including the Association of Mental Health Providers, Mental Health Network — NHS Confederation, Youth Access and Schools’ Wellbeing Partnership.

They counsel that as “half of lifetime mental illness starts by the age of 14,” the key is providing “effective support from an early age” to “prevent problems from escalating and becoming more serious in adulthood”.


“Schools,” they add, are “at the heart of our communities and provide the perfect setting to embed this supportive mindset and ‘normalise’ discussions around mental health”.

The letter ends with a call to support the Standard’s Young London SOS campaign — which in partnership with the charity Place2Be — seeks to provide mental health support for more pupils in more schools.

“Our hope is the legacy of the pandemic can be a fundamental rethinking of priorities towards the creation of a kinder and more inclusive society.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×