Introduction

The rising prevalence of mental health problems among children and young people over the past 20 years has become a growing concern in the UK., Governments in England, Scotland and Wales have published strategies to improve support and services in the NHS, schools and colleges, and the wider community.,, Mental health services across the UK were struggling to meet demand even before the COVID-19 pandemic.,, But since then, national lockdowns, disruptions to schooling and social life, and an increasing number of families in financial distress have exacerbated mental health struggles among children and young people.

The scale of this issue presents huge challenges for mental health services. For example, in 2021 1 in 6 young people aged 6–16 years in England had a probable mental health disorder – equivalent to 1.3 million individuals who might benefit from support. It seems unlikely that existing plans to increase the availability of services across the UK will be sufficient to provide support for all young people who need it.

Unmet mental health needs cause avoidable distress and disrupt a child or young person’s development at a crucial time in their lives. The case for early intervention is powerful, not only to prevent conditions from worsening but to improve the outcomes for people who develop enduring mental ill health.

The rising level of mental ill health among children and young people is also a threat to the future health and prosperity of society. Half of all lifetime cases of mental health disorders begin by age 15, and three-quarters of lifetime mental illness is experienced by the mid-20s., People with mental disorders have a reduced life expectancy of between 7 and 25 years, mostly because of physical health problems associated with mental ill health. A recent study estimates mental ill health costs the UK £118bn a year (5% of GDP in 2019), including the costs of treatment and lost earnings for people with mental illness and their informal carers. Addressing this requires funding and cross-government action, but it also requires reliable data and insight to enable services to plan for rising need.

About this briefing

In this briefing, we present analysis from the Networked Data Lab (NDL). Led by the Health Foundation, the NDL is a collaborative network of analytical teams from across the UK (see section About the Networked Data Lab). Using local expertise and unique linked datasets, our aim is to produce new insights into major challenges in health and care.

In Part 1, we provide some background on the trends in mental health disorders among children and young people and existing pressures on services, as well as an overview of the main policies in place in England, Scotland and Wales to improve children and young people’s mental health. In Part 2, we present findings from NDL partners: we examine trends and patterns of service use, including the use of general practice, specialist mental health care and acute services, along with differences by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. In Part 3, we show how local NDL teams used linked data to improve services in their area. We assess the NDL findings in the context of existing evidence and in the final section offer insights for national and local policymakers.

Previous Next