Mark Winstanley, CEO of Rethink Mental Illness, responds to the government's 2022 Spring Statement: 

"With an ever-worsening cost of living crisis, the Chancellor’s Spring Statement will sadly do little to ease the anxieties of people living with severe mental illness and their carers. 

"Even before the current cost of living crisis, many people living with mental illness were struggling with day-to-day costs such as food and utilities. Concerns and anxiety about bills and the cost of living are the main issues raised through the Mental Health & Money Advice service.

"Many people severely affected by mental illness are presently not well enough to work and are reliant on the welfare system to survive. We’re disappointed that the Chancellor hasn’t announced more support for people on social security, including an uprate to benefits in line with inflation. This would help ensure people can meet daily living costs. Instead, people living with mental illness are being left behind. 

"This crisis is forecast to see the biggest fall in living standards on record. We need the government to take a far more concerted effort to improve the rates of benefits to better support people and to get a grip on wider determinants of mentally ill health.  

"We, and others in the mental health community, will continue to raise our concerns to government at every opportunity we can."