Summary: Roundtable on Primary Prevention of Mental Illness among Children and Young People

In March, the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group (APHG) and Manchester Metropolitan University hosted a roundtable with the Department for Health and Social Care on children and young people’s mental health. Co-chaired by Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women’s Health and Mental Health, and Dr Simon Opher MP, Chair of the APHG and MP for Stroud, the roundtable explored some of the key policy and strategic barriers to overcome to improve children and young people’s mental health.  

Baroness Merron emphasised that, as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, the Government is shifting its focus towards prevention. However, a key question remains: why does demand for mental health services continue to rise, and how can that demand be met now and in the future? 

Data and metrics are central: what gets measured can be changed. This includes developing the NHS app to support guided self-help and improve access to services. Baroness Merron focussed on the role digital technology must play, both in improving accessibility and in supporting people to ‘wait well’ while on waiting lists. There are already examples of what works well, such as in Newham, where a local government-run model uses social prescribing to connect people on waiting lists with appropriate youth services and facilities.  

‘Sure Start’ centres, a government initiative launched in the 1990s to provide early years support for families with children under five, focussing on health, education, and parenting support, were cited as an example of what has worked, and how early years provision can improve mental health outcomes. Baroness Merron also raised the issue of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and its link to primary care work.  Policy Connect is due to report on its inquiry into youth NEET reduction in May 2026.  

During the discussion, panellists focussed on various aspects of the mental health challenge, highlighting issues of early intervention and prevention. The population is presenting with increasingly complex needs, requiring more intensive interventions, with strong evidence supporting early-years and multidisciplinary approaches. Early-years provision, including parent-infant mental health support delivered through Family Hubs, should begin before birth and address deprivation in diverse communities. 

Panellists and the co-chairs emphasised the social determinants of mental health, highlighting poverty as a significant risk factor for children. Inequality, housing, racism, and domestic violence were also identified as determinants of mental health outcomes, requiring place-based and systems-based approaches to address them. Trauma-informed and evidence-based parental mental health programmes were highlighted as effective responses to these determinants. 

Participants identified co-designing with children and families as a key lever for progress in mental health prevention, with a clear message that young people need to be listened to. Creative activities can offer significant benefits for young people’s mental health by fostering social connection, with social prescribing identified as an important tool. Some of the panellists had personally benefitted from creative outlets and attributed them to improved mental health outcomes. Digital prevention tools also offer substantial opportunities for public health information campaigns, with strong evidence that single-service digital interventions can have a measurable population-level impact on conditions such as low mood and anxiety. These interventions are often low-cost and scalable, although there was a group consensus that addressing digital poverty remains essential to ensure equitable access. 

Participants noted a key tension between needs-led systems and value-based systems that work for all service users, requiring careful balance in delivery. There was broad agreement that much of this work should be anchored in neighbourhood health centres. 

With a number of forthcoming publications on the horizon – the Prevalence Review, the Dash review of mental health services, and 10 Year Workforce Plan – and the ongoing delivery of the 10 Year Health Plan, there is a real opportunity to build the joined-up mental health system that young people deserve. Policy Connect will continue to convene policymakers, clinicians, and community voices to drive forward prevention-focused mental health policy, with a particular focus on the communities that need it most.  

For further information, please contact Lavanya Rangaraja