Hot Topics: Mental Health Support

As part of our campaign to encourage students to TURN UP AND VOTE in the upcoming General Election, we’re researching party manifestos on topics that matter to you based on the Student Manifesto. This is to ensure you can feel informed when making your vote.  

Here is a summary of some of their aims surrounding mental health support that may in turn impact you as a university student: 

Conservatives 

• Open early support hubs for those aged 11-25 in every community by 2030 
• Ensure mental health support teams cover all schools and colleges 
• Increase planned expansion of NHS Talking Therapies by 50% 
• Legislate to provide better treatment and support for severe mental health needs  

Green Party 

• Increase funding for mental health care to give it parity with physical health 
• Place a trained and paid counsellor in every school and sixth-form college 
• Require councils to provide free transport for 16–18-year-olds with disabilities  
• Reform eligibility tests for welfare such as Personal Independence Payment 

Labour 

• Recruit an additional 8500 new mental health staff 
• Open hubs to provide open access to mental health services for children and young people in every community 
• Reform the Mental Health Act to provide more autonomy and dignity to those in inpatient care 
• Work with local areas to create plans to support more people with disabilities and health conditions into work 

Liberal Democrats 

• Offer mental health checkups at key points in people’s lives when they are most vulnerable to mental ill health 
• Put a qualified mental health professional in every school 
• Extend young people’s mental health services to the age of 25 
• Reform the Mental Health Act to provide more autonomy and dignity to those in inpatient care 
• End out-of-area mental health placements by increasing capacity and coordination between services 

Reform UK 

• Launch an inquiry into Social Media Harms including those associated with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, suicide and the child mental health crisis 
• Reform benefit support & training to start to motivate up to two million people back to work and with a particular focus on 16-34-year-olds 
• Integrate mental health services with job seeking pathways 

Want to find out more about party manifestos and what your local candidates are saying? Use these tools: 

• Find your local candidates 
• Understand parties based on policies 
• Election Fact Checker 
• Party Manifestos: Conservative, Green, Labour, LibDems, Reform UK