Lib Dems pledge to put a qualified mental health professional in every school

The Liberal Democrats have announced that their manifesto will include a commitment to a mental health professional in every primary and secondary school.

The policy would be funded through a trebling of the Digital Services Tax, which they say would raise an extra £1.5 billion a year.

The proposal comes after House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats revealed that almost 340,000 children and young people are on mental health waiting lists with some areas seeing average waits of 15 months.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the findings showed a “disturbing postcode lottery” with average waits for children’s mental health treatment in some areas more than double the national average.

The figures, compiled from NHS Digital and cover the period from January to March of this year, showed the average waits for children and young people to see a mental health professional after a referral from a GP. Children in St Helens are waiting an average of 444 days on mental health waiting lists, the longest in the country. Other areas with long average waits include Buckinghamshire (378 days), Coventry and Warwickshire (375 days) and Warrington (371 days). The average waiting time for children and young people for mental health treatment is 187 days.

The figures also reveal the areas with the highest number of children on waiting lists for mental health treatment. The worst is in Birmingham and Solihull where more than 17,000 children and young people are on a mental health waiting list. This is followed by Kent and Medway (15,500), Coventry and Warwickshire (15,500) and Southampton and the Isle of Wight (11,100).

“Thousands of children are being left in limbo, forced to suffer intolerably long-waits for mental health treatment,” Ed Davey said. “They are being failed by this Conservative government who have neglected the NHS and abandoned parents and children.”

“Liberal Democrats would put a dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every school both primary and secondary, funded by a tax on the social media giants that are such a big part of the problem.”


In a statement, the National Education Union said the announcement was welcome. “COVID exacerbated the mental health crisis in our schools. The NEU has long campaigned for greater dedicated support and resources in schools to support students' mental health.”

Also responding to the pledge, Paul Whiteman, General Secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“All children and young people deserve timely and high-quality support for their mental health when they need it; accessing help cannot be a postcode lottery.

“Funding for these vital services simply hasn’t kept pace with demand, meaning less capacity, long waiting lists and higher thresholds for support.

“The policy put forward by the Liberal Democrats to provide a mental health professional in every school would help improve access to early help for children and young people.”