Our spending boost to tackle adult mental illness
Provision of community services for people with serious mental illness has historically not been a focus of mental health reforms. This has meant that many people living in the community with serious mental illness have received limited support from their GPs until their symptoms become more severe.
That’s why, as part of our Conservative NHS policy, the National Health Service is joining forces with housing services, charities and employment services to give personalised, holistic, mental health care and advice.
Our mental health policy announcement:
At Conservative Party Conference, we announced that new models of personalised care will be rolled out to tackle the serious issue of adult mental illness.
So we’re funding twelve trailblazer schemes – which will test new ways of joining up services across NHS organisations and councils – and 1,000 extra staff in NHS community mental health services, to ensure patients have easier access to the support they need.
This is part of a huge boost to community mental health services for adults which will see an extra £975 million going into these services every year.
Is this new money?
This boost of funding for community services, which is the largest portion from the £2.3 billion going into mental health services by 2023-24, comes from the NHS Long Term Plan and will help to make sure that there will be improved access and support for people with severe mental illness.
We have a strong record on mental health
Last year we announced a record £33.9 billion settlement for the NHS - the largest cash settlement for the NHS in history – including £2.3 billion for mental health services upgrades.
In August, we also announced a further £1.8 billion in new capital funding as part of our Conservative hospital building policy. £850 million for 20 hospital upgrades and £1 billion to tackle critical infrastructure backlog across the country, emergency capital funding requests and more.
This builds on our announcement in July that we're investing in young peoples' mental health, offering mental health training to schools and colleges across England.
Labour’s NHS policy offers less than ours
Labour has offered less money for the NHS that the Conservatives. In their manifesto, they committed just 2.2% more per year during this Parliament. But our new budget settlement provides substantially more, at 3.4% a year, providing the NHS with the support it needs to truly be world-leading.
The NHS has had a history of Conservative support. That’s why the Conservatives are more trusted on the NHS than Labour, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in Parliament this month. Labour would only wreck our economy, damaging the robust economic foundations we need to properly fund our NHS.
Only a strong economy can properly fund the NHS
For 44 of its 71 years, the NHS has benefited from Conservative government and Conservative policies. That’s because we understand that unless you support wealth creation and British businesses, we will not have a strong economy. And if we don’t have a strong economy, we won’t have the money to fund the NHS. And that’s a lesson Corbyn’s Labour simply does not get.
Since we came into Government, our economy has strengthened: we have record inward investment, employment is at a record high, youth unemployment is plummeting and wages are growing faster than inflation.
Only a strong Conservative economic policy can fund a strong NHS policy. And we plan to get Brexit done so we can support our NHS in the years to come. And we are proud that mental health support will be at the forefront of our NHS provision.