It has become undeniable in recent years that youth mental health in the United Kingdom is in crisis. Today it feels as if every young person in Britain, if not struggling with their own mental health, at least knows someone who is. The consequences of this crisis are dire – problems such as depression and anxiety are mentally suffocating our youth, preventing them from realising their academic potential, making them less productive at work and, most importantly, stopping them from enjoying the things that make life worthwhile.
This cannot be put down to a few tragic, isolated incidents. This is a social problem. A report by NHS England in 2023 found that 1 in 5 people aged 8-25 years old had a "probable mental disorder" with 17-19 being the age group most at risk. Furthermore, we must remember that this number could be even larger due to people being reluctant to report such struggles due to feelings of shame or just being unaware of their mental health.
A social problem as large as this needs the government to step in, which is why I wish to first argue that the state does have a role in both the prevention and treatment of youth mental health struggles, and then to propose some ways they may go about fulfilling this role. I call for the government to approach this with the spirit of social welfarism, where the state helps to improve both the material and mental wellbeing of its citizens. The mental health of Britain’s future is paramount to the country’s success. Here is how we look after it.
Increasing access to youth centres and clubs would go a long way in giving young people the opportunity to socialise with others, find their passions and develop as people. This sense of identity, friendship and belonging directly helps to prevent feelings of loneliness and angst which cause mental health issues in the first place. This idea is supported by the ‘Youth Provision and Life Outcomes’ report from the Department for Culture Media and Sport, published this year. It found a "clear association between participation in youth provision and positive short-term outcomes relating to physical health and wellbeing, pro-social behaviours and education."
However, many young people cannot access these beneficial services because they simply cannot afford it. That same report from the DCMS found that youth club membership was being increasingly dominated by people from affluent backgrounds, suggesting an counterproductive increase in the exclusivity of these clubs.
Furthermore, the same NHS report referenced earlier found that young aged 17-25 with a probable mental disorder were 3 times more likely to not be able to afford to engage in activities that could be provided by a youth club than those who likely did not have a mental disorder, while 8 to 16 years old with a probable mental disorder were 2 times more likely. The trend is clear: too many young people are being denied the ability to engage in these immensely beneficial activities, because they simply cannot afford to. This is why the government must step in to provide an affordable alternative.
Typically, this affordable alternative was achieved through youth services provided by local government. Sadly, after the brutal austerity cuts of the last Conservative government, funding for youth services was cut by 74% in 2020/21 from where they were in 2010/11. One consequence of this has been the closing of hundreds of cherished youth centres, with 130 out of 300 youth centres having closed in London alone in the same period. The Tories failed to recognise how crucial these services are and made the political choice that the benefits to wellbeing of these services are not worth the money.
Although I respect the fact that the new government cannot reverse the damage immediately due to their dire economic inheritance, I do believe that we must push the Labour Party to at least gradually start the rebuilding process. After all, is the mental well-being of our youths not worth the cost of these services?
But, saving the traditional youth services of the past is not the only way to help tackle the mental health crisis. New government initiatives are also welcomed, and, to their credit, Labour has already started doing this. The party’s manifesto policy to ensure there is a mental health professional in every school could be highly beneficial by ensuring that school, a core component of any young person’s life, is providing the necessary assistance in this area.
The party’s manifesto also promises to bring in a new ‘Young Futures’ programme, which will mainly focus on preventing young people from falling into crime by bringing mental health specialists, youth workers and police officers together with young people. I hope this programme will strive to tackle the root causes of youth crime, such as mental health, and to truly rehabilitate young people who may have already fallen to petty crime, rather than merely function as a deterrent and punishment centre which I frankly do not believe will work. Young people need to know the government is there to help them, not just to punish them, something I hope this Labour government will recognise.
The Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, walking with his Home Secretary Yevette Cooper, who announced the ‘Young Futures’ policy and will hopefully implement the manifesto pledge successfully.
There are many other things the government could do to make a difference which I have not mentioned, such as looking at how to limit the damage of social media on mental health. But I hope that this article has provided you, the reader, with hope by showing the real impact the state can have in improving the wellbeing of British youth. With enough tenacity and political will, I believe we shall start to see the implementation of welfarist policies that make real progress in tackling this issue, that give more and more young people a real opportunity to enjoy their lives.
Though I do believe the government plays a significant role in resolving this problem, it remains that we all have a social responsibility to care for the mental health of the both young and society generally. So, let us all try to embrace the spirit of social welfarism and do our little bit to help look after the wellbeing of others, so that everyone can enjoy the things that make life worthwhile.
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