We have covered the launch of the Equality for Mental Health Campaign this week and we also linked to Norman Lamb’s account of his son’s struggles with mental health. And now our spokesperson in the Lords on Mental Health, Claire Tyler, has written an article in Politics Home.

She outlines the campaign then writes:

Our job now is to hold this Government’s feet firmly to the fire and make sure the promised money finds its way into the system and, crucially, that money earmarked for mental health services is indeed spent on mental healthcare by Clinical Commissioning Groups. In a recent, and very welcome, spate of debates and questions in the Lords I have pushed for more details about where and when the additional £1.25 billion promised for young people’s mental health during this Parliament is going to be spent.

She adds:

Across the political spectrum there is distinct agreement that more needs to be done but we face the question, when money is tight, is there the political will to make mental health a real priority? With so many other pressures on the health and social care sector is Jeremy Hunt really going to fight the Treasury tooth and nail to ensure that happens?

Rather worryingly she reports:

Recently, the annual survey led by the regulator – the Care Quality Commission – of over 13,000 people who were treated and cared for in the community for their mental health problems has shown ‘no notable improvement’ in the last year and in some questions, a slightly higher proportion of people have reported a poor experience including whether people felt they were treated with dignity and respect and on whether they felt involved in decisions about their care.

It is pleasing that this excellent campaign is getting such good coverage in the media. You can read the full article here.

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.