I attended an event in Parliament to show my support for Action for Children’s Build Sound Minds campaign. Action for Children is a charity focused on helping vulnerable children and their families tackle a broad range of issues. Their Build Sound Minds campaign aims to help children and teenagers build good mental health and emotional wellbeing. Action for Children’s The Blues Programme has also helped over 1,4000 young people through cognitive behavioural therapy and physical activity.

Mental health is the biggest unaddressed health challenge we face. NHS figures found that one in eight children under the age of 19 in England were suffering from a mental health disorder in 2017. This rose to one in six for those between 17 and 19 years old. I believe there needs to be a concerted effort across the country to improve the treatment, support and awareness of the epidemic. I am glad that the Labour Party is taking this issue seriously and has committed to ring-fence mental health budgets and ensure access to a counselling service is available for all children in secondary schools.