Less than 1.5% of English local authorities’ public health budget is spent on preventing mental health problems, with some councils spending nothing, research by the charity Mind has found.
Local authorities have allocated less than £40m to mental health in 2014-15, as opposed to £108m on obesity, £160m on smoking and £671m on sexual health.
Councils took over responsibility for preventing physical and mental health problems in their communities from primary care trusts in 2013 but some did not even know they were responsible for the latter, according to Mind.
Chief executive Paul Farmer said: “Mind’s findings show that while local authorities are happy to spend on preventing physical health problems, their equivalent spending on mental health is unacceptably low.
“We need to invest in everyone’s mental health, particularly for people who are more likely to become unwell such as younger people, pregnant women, people who are isolated, or those living with a long-term physical health problem.”
Through freedom of information requests, Mind found that the average planned spend on mental health by local authorities was 1.36%, a figure so low that it is lumped in with “miscellaneous public health services” in the overall budget estimate for the authorities.
Mental health problems cost the country an estimated £100bn each year through lost working days, benefits, lost tax revenue and cost of treatment, and account for 23% of the total burden of disease in the UK.
Mind declined to name the worst offenders among the local authorities but said it would consider doing so if there was no improvement. Mind and other charities have long complained that mental health patients are denied the same access to treatment given to people with physical health problems. Many face a long wait for talking therapies and there have also been concerns about children being admitted to adult psychiatric wards and sometimes being placed hundreds of miles away from home.
The latest findings suggest that there are also inequalities when it comes to prevention, which need to be addressed if the pressure on NHS finances from growing demand for healthcare is to be eased. Farmer called on the government to come up with a national strategy to ensure local authorities know their responsibilities and spend their budgets accordingly. Izzi Seccombe, Conservative leader of Warwickshire county council and chair of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said the focus of the report was too narrow.
“There are many things that councils do that impact positively on mental health but might not come with a mental health ‘badge’. These include the provision of high-quality green space, programmes to promote physical activity, arts and culture, volunteering programmes and befriending services.”
Seccombe said that councils would welcome the development of a national strategy but it should not be over-prescriptive. “It is critical that local areas can respond to local priorities and concerns – so as to meet the needs of their local populations,” she said.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We are introducing standards for access and waiting times and have legislated for equality between physical and mental health in the NHS.
“Councils are independent but we expect them to share this priority. From next year, the Care Act and the Better Care fund will place a clear duty on councils to promote people’s wellbeing and to join up services within their communities, including mental health services.”
