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DoH rejects Labour figures suggesting CCGs have cut mental health funding this year (25 August 2015)

Date: 25/08/2015
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, DoH rejects Labour figures suggesting CCGs have cut mental health funding this year

The Department of Health (DoH) has rejected allegations by Labour that mental health budgets in England have fallen in the year 2015-2016 – and the government has failed to keep its promise to boost mental health spending.

BBC News reports that figures obtained under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request suggest that average mental health budgets fell in 2015-2016.

The figures suggest that, on average in 2015-2016, many CCGs are planning to allocate just 10% of their budget to mental health, compared with 11% in 2014-2015.

However, NHS England had said CCGs would spend 13% of their budget on mental health this year.

Labour says that the figures obtained suggest that 50 of the 130 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) which responded to the FOI request said they planned to reduce the proportion of the budget allocated to mental health for this financial year.

Labour has also said there is a wide variation between CCGs in the funding they have set aside for mental health – with North, Eastern and Western Devon CCG allocating 6% of its total budget on mental health, compared with 20% set aside for mental health by Lincolnshire West CCG.

The DoH has rejected the figures, however, and says that mental health funding remains a priority for the government.

Chairman of the NHS Clinical Commissioners Mental Health Commissioners Network, Dr Phil Moore, said that CCGs understand the importance of investing in mental health – but financial pressures “may leave no room for increased spend in any one area”.

“It is important to note that many CCGs are not simply looking to invest more in the same models of care that have failed in the past,” said Dr Moore.

Shadow public health minister Luciana Berger said that ministers had repeatedly promised mental health funding at local level would increase in line with local CCG budgets.

“Yet they have failed to make this a reality – and too many CCGs actually plan to spend less of their budget on mental health this year,” she added.

A spokesman for the DoH said:

“We do not recognise these figures – NHS England has shown mental health spending has increased by £0.4bn this year."

“Mental health is a priority for this government – and to say otherwise ignores the fact we have given mental and physical health conditions equal priority in law, we've increased central funding by millions of pounds, and introduced the first ever treatment targets which will make sure funding goes to where it's needed.”

A spokesman for NHS England added:

“The planning guidance set out a clear expectation for CCGs in terms of increasing spend on mental health.

“CCGs were required to ensure that mental health spend will rise in real terms and grow at least in line with each CCG's overall allocation growth – and around 90% of CCGs demonstrated this.”

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