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Additional £1.25bn to be spent on mental health services

An extra £1.25 billion will be spent on mental health services in England over the next five years, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced.

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Extra £1.25bn to be spent on mental health services

An extra £1.25 billion will be spent on mental health services in England over the next five years, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced.

An extra £1.25 billion will be spent on mental health services over the next five years, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced Credit: PA

The money will help more than 100,000 youngsters struggling with mental health problems, Nick Clegg said today.

Making the announcement on a visit to Clock View Hospital in Liverpool, he said the manner in which children are currently treated is an "institutionalised form of cruelty".

"I think it will have a huge impact. You have got, on average, three children in every classroom in our country who have got mental health problems and are not being properly catered for, not being properly identified, not being properly supported.

This huge expansion - £1.25 billion over the course of the next parliament - will help around 110,000 children, children who at the moment are being let down by the system.

– Nick Clegg

The funding will also help improve support for new mothers, who had previously struggled with a "second-class mental health service", Mr Clegg said.

The £250 million a year funding will be confirmed in next week's Budget.

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