Research undertaken by the House of Commons Library has revealed that 336,886 children are sitting on mental health waiting lists – with the average time before being seen varying hugely across the country.
The figures were compiled using NHS data and cover January to March 2024. They show the average waits for children and young people to see a mental health professional after a referral from a GP.
The national average is 187 days, but the data reveals a postcode lottery of provision with some young people waiting well over a year while others are waiting under a month.
The longest waiting time is St Helens in Merseyside at 444 days, followed by Buckinghamshire (378 days), Coventry and Warwickshire (375 days), and Warrington (371 days).
This compares to average waiting times of 27 days in North East Essex, 34 days in Mid-Essex, 34 days in Barnsley, and 16 days in Blackburn with Darwen.
The figures also reveal the numbers of children and young people waiting for support in each area waiting. The most children and young people waiting for support are in Birmingham and Solihull (17,035), followed by Kent and Medway (15,550), Coventry and Warwickshire (15,500), and Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight (11,355).
Areas with the fewest children and young people waiting include Blackburn with Darwen (175), Basildon and Brentwood (200), Castle Point and Rochford (165), and Southend (180).
The research has been commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, who this week made an election manifesto pledge to install a mental health professional in every primary and secondary school. This would be funded through a trebling of the Digital Services Tax, which the party says would raise an extra £1.5bn a year.
It comes after a study undertaken by the children’s commissioner for England and published earlier this year also revealed significant waiting times for a second contact with mental health services.
Also based on NHS data, the research found that the average wait for a second contact for children and young people was 142 days. It also found that around 32,000 children and young people had been waiting for more than two years. Read our report here.
The government is currently rolling out its Mental Health Support Teams initiative, which is on track to reach half of all children and young people by next year.
However, there has been much criticism of the slow roll-out of this programme given that it was first proposed eight years ago.
MHSTs support the mental health needs of children and young people in primary, secondary and further education (ages 5 to 18), providing early intervention on issues such as mild to moderate anxiety. Delivery is led by the NHS with support from the DfE.
The latest figures show that 498 MHSTs are now operational with an additional 109 due to be online by March 2025. Each MHST covers an average of 8,400 learners in 17 schools or colleges and are also intended to support education settings in promoting good mental health and wellbeing.
Around 4.2 million students are now covered by support from MHSTs – about 44%. This is up from 35% coverage last year and the initiative is forecast to reach 54% coverage in March 2025.
Commenting on the House of Commons Library research this week, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “Funding for these vital services simply hasn’t kept pace with demand, meaning less capacity, long waiting lists and higher thresholds for support.”