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Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, responded to a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which found that a record number of children and young people in England are seeking mental health support 

“The pandemic has exacerbated existing mental health issues among children but even before this, the number of children referred to mental health services soared by nearly 60 per cent between 2017/18 and 2019/20.

“Mental health needs to be at the heart of a holistic approach to overall health and wellbeing, including investment in community-based services.

“It is vital that effective and evidence-based mental health and wellbeing services and statutory mental health services for children are able to meet existing, new and unmet demand that has built up during the pandemic to support children and young people to thrive and overcome the challenges presented by COVID-19. The situation must be kept under review going forward to assess any further support needs that may arise.”

Record number of children and young people referred to mental health services as pandemic takes its toll