Coalition calls for government strategy to tackle ‘causes rather than symptoms’ of deepening mental health crisis
09 May 2025
- Coalition of organisations representing people living with mental illness and other disabilities calls for strategy that identifies and tackles drivers of mental ill-health across education, health, welfare and more.
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The group warns against proposed benefit cuts, which they say could exacerbate the mental health crisis.
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Letter calls for urgent investment to bring down mental health waiting lists, amid concerns over falling share of spending on mental health compared with physical health, at a time of increasing demand for support.
A coalition of organisations has written to the prime minister calling for a strategy that tackles the ‘causes rather than symptoms’ of rising mental illness, suicide and people out of work – and warn that benefit cuts could exacerbate the national mental health crisis.
The 37 signatories, which include Rethink Mental Illness, Mind, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and the Centre for Mental Health, call for the government mental health strategy to join-up thinking across education, online safety, health, welfare and other areas, in a way which cannot be achieved through the upcoming NHS 10 Year Plan alone.
The letter highlights that the current government has inherited a crisis in mental health, with figures showing the highest suicide rates since 1999, a sharp increase in self-harm among young people, and a growing number of people being diagnosed with severe mental illness.
The letter also raises concerns that the share of spending on mental health compared with physical health has fallen and is set to drop further next year, despite growing levels of need for mental health support.
Recent analysis of NHS data by Rethink Mental Illness found that people are eight times more likely to wait 18 months or more for mental health treatment than physical health treatment. Despite this, mental health was left out of the government’s recent drive to bring down elective waiting lists.
The coalition urges the government to prioritise reducing waiting lists for community mental health treatment, including through starting the roll-out of neighbourhood mental health centres.
Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive of Rethink Mental Illness, said:
“We are in the grip of a mental health crisis that is affecting millions of lives and putting the brakes on the country’s economic potential. People are struggling to get the help they need, and for many, the system is failing them.
“We cannot treat our way out of this crisis; we must also prevent it. In addition to cutting waiting lists, that means tackling the root causes of poor mental health. It means making sure children are supported at school, that people have a safe and secure place to call home, and that welfare policies promote wellbeing rather than undermine it.
“We recognise the prime minister’s genuine desire to make progress on this issue, but unless we see action now, there is a risk that this government’s legacy will be a worsening crisis. A joined-up government strategy would not only help people to recover and thrive, but also ease pressure on the NHS, boost productivity, and build a healthier society. We stand ready to support him in turning this ambition into a reality.”
Notes to editors
For more information or to interview a spokesperson, please contact Jamie Morrell, Media Manager at Rethink Mental Illness, on media@rethink.org or 0207 840 3138.
The letter
Dear Prime Minister,
Your Government has inherited a crisis in mental health. Suicide is at its highest level since 1999, self-harm among young people has climbed by over a third, and numbers being diagnosed with severe mental illnesses continue to rise.
This is having a substantial impact on society and the economy, not least contributing to the high number of people out of work due to their mental health. We recognise your genuine desire to make progress on this issue, and are keen to support you in tackling the twin beasts of worsening illness and economic inactivity. The only long term way to do this is to address causes rather than symptoms. We are concerned that cuts to disability benefits do not address the causes of the problem and may exacerbate them. We are also worried that, despite some positives such as the retention of the Mental Health Investment Standard, overall NHS projections now show the proportion of spending on mental health is falling year on year.
To grab this crisis by the horns and drive progress, we are calling on the Government to implement a cross-departmental mental health strategy, aimed at identifying and addressing the causes of the growing national mental health crisis. This would join up thinking across education, online safety, health, welfare and other areas, in a way that cannot be delivered solely through the NHS 10 year plan. The mental health sector can assist in providing the very best evidence to support your decision making and deliver the best results. We applaud your mission-led approach to government as a way of embedding focused, joined up thinking, and a mental health strategy can be included as part of the existing health, growth, or barriers to opportunity missions, to avoid setting up any additional bureaucracy and help to hit the ground running.
A crucial first step will be prioritising waiting lists for community mental health treatment. Right now, someone who needs mental health care is eight times more likely to wait over 18 months than someone who needs physical health care, and the evidence suggests a majority of these people experience deterioration in symptoms while waiting. A concerted targeting of resources to tackle mental health waiting lists, including starting the roll out of neighbourhood mental health centres, could go some way to getting people treated earlier, and the progress the Government is already making on waiting times for elective care shows that this is achievable.
Polling indicates under 40s regard mental health as a higher priority even than climate change. We all have a responsibility to rise to the challenge and give this issue the level of priority the public expect, with a whole Government strategy, and targeted interventions to get the situation under control.
We look forward to continuing to work together to deliver a mentally heathier society.
Mark Winstanley, CEO, Rethink Mental Illness
Brian Dow, CEO, Mental Health UK
Labour Campaign for Mental Health
Kathy Boles, Chair, Disability Labour
Julie Bentley, CEO, Samaritans
Lucy Taylor-Mitchinson, Director of Policy and Communications, Young Minds
Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive, Mind
Helen Undy, Chief Executive, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute
Sue Millman, Chief Executive, Ataxia UK
Mark Rowland, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation
Helen Walker, Chief Executive, Carers UK
Dr Helen Bullbeck, Director of Services and Policy, Brainstrust
Kiri Adams, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Christians Against Poverty
Andy Bell, Chief Executive, Centre for Mental Health
Juliet Tizzard, Director of External Relations, Parkinson’s UK
Simon Bull, Chief Executive, Charcot-Marie-Tooth UK
Amy Whitelock Gibbs, Chair, Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
Andrew MacKay, Chief Executive, Disability Law Service
Paul Bristow, Chief Executive, Kidney Care UK
Sarah McIntosh, CEO, Mental Health First Aid England and the Association of Mental Health First Aiders
Andy Mitchell, Member of the Group, Disabled People Against Cuts Steering Group
Jonathan Gibson, Campaigns Lead, Metabolic Support UK
Dr Lade Smith, President of RCPsych, Royal College of Psychiatrists
Kamena Dorling, Head of Policy, Helen Bamber Foundation
Ross Elliot, Chief Executive, Chrysalis Courses
Dr Rhidian Hughes, Chief Executive, Voluntary Organisations Disability Group
Kathy Roberts, CEO, Association of Mental Health Providers
Kate Steele, CEO, Shine
Sonia Meikle, Welfare Benefits Manager and Chair, Croydon Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Support Group
Si Yates, Director of Operations, Place2Be
Alan Markey, Chair, National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers
Lucy Byrne, Chief Executive, Richmond Aid
Emma McNally, CEO, Tourettes Action
Michael Beckett, Chief Executive Officer, Disability Advice & Welfare Network
Alison Coates, Co-founder, Auto Immune and Multiple Sclerosis
Jyles Robillard-Day, Chief Executive Officer, The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
Katy Styles, Founder, We Care Campaign