The Government must overhaul the benefits system to tackle poverty and boost children’s mental health, according to a new report from Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition.
A dual crisis says that living in poverty is having a “devastating” impact on children’s mental health across the UK. The report finds that inadequate levels of benefits and the use of sanctions are driving family poverty and damaging the mental health of both parents and children.
A dual crisis says that children are being failed by the state’s inability to combat the ‘dual crises’ of poverty and mental ill health. Based on research with parents and children, and a review of the evidence, the report notes that the number of children living in poverty has risen sharply to 4.3 million, alongside worrying rises in rates of mental health difficulties – 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 now has a diagnosable mental health problem in the UK.
Existing evidence shows that the poorest children are four times more likely to have mental health difficulties than the wealthiest, by the age of 11. Taking action to lift families out of poverty would help bring down levels of mental distress, and improve mental health for millions of children and their parents.
This action must start with the benefits system. In the report, parents claiming Universal Credit describe the anxiety and stress caused by the assessment process, and their guilt at being unable to provide essentials like food and heating for their children. The report says that parents’ psychological distress has a knock-on impact on their children’s mental health.
A dual crisis finds that some children are ‘overexposed’ to the dual risks of poverty and poor mental health, with rates of poverty twice as high among Asian and Black families than for white families. The report says that this higher risk of poverty exacerbates the impacts of racism and discrimination on children’s mental health.
The charities are calling on the Government to deliver on its manifesto pledge of a comprehensive and effective child poverty strategy, and for it to go hand-in-hand with a cross-government mental health plan. They welcome the Government’s manifesto promise to put a mental health professional in every school. But they warn that without decisive action to eradicate child poverty, including ending the two-child benefits limit, more children will experience avoidable harm and distress.
CentreforMH ADualCrisis (PDF) 2 MB
Reform benefits system to protect children’s mental health, say charities
