“As this report demonstrates, public mental health services run by local councils lack the sufficient funding they need to cope with increasing demand."
Commenting on a report by the National Audit Office which has found increasing demand on mental health services in the last year, Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board said:
“As this report demonstrates, public mental health services run by local councils lack the sufficient funding they need to cope with increasing demand.
“Investment in preventative mental health services can not only transform the lives of the people who rely upon them but also relieve pressure on our overburdened health and care systems.
“Announcements on councils’ public health grant which fund these and other vital local services have continued to be delayed, with councils and their communities currently being left in the dark about their future.
“The Government needs to give councils the clarity they need so they can increase investment to protect the health of our local communities over the coming months and years.”
Notes to editors
Local authorities deliver a range of statutory and non-statutory mental health services in the community across the life course.