Seventeen organisations, including Bipolar Scotland and the Royal College of GPs, have united to demand greater investment in mental health services.

A coalition of 17 organisations, led by Scotland’s Mental Health Partnership (SMHP), is urging the Scottish Government to prioritise mental health funding as discussions on the 2024/25 budget continue. Groups such as Bipolar Scotland, the Royal College of GPs, the British Psychological Society, and the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) stress the need for increased financial commitment to mental health and wellbeing services.

While the Scottish Government previously committed to dedicating 10% of the total NHS frontline budget to mental health and promised a 25% resource increase during the current parliamentary term, recent data from Public Health Scotland indicates that only 8.8% of the budget is currently allocated—falling short by £180 million annually, according to SMHP.

The call for increased funding follows a £30 million cut from the 2023/24 mental health budget, confirmed by Deputy First Minister Shona Robinson in correspondence with Kenneth Gibson MSP, chair of the finance committee. SMHP chair Lee Knifton highlighted the challenge, stating, “Achieving the vision of a stigma-free Scotland with equal access to mental wellbeing requires both immediate and long-term financial investment. Meeting current needs hinges on restoring and boosting government funding.”

Knifton emphasised that the recently launched Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which incorporates a Promote, Prevent, Provide framework, requires substantial backing to realise its goals. He urged ministers to honour their pledge by ensuring mental health spending reaches 10% of NHS expenditure and reinstating the recent budget cuts without delay.

Responding to the concerns, Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd acknowledged the economic pressures affecting health and social care. She pointed to challenges such as high inflation, the lingering effects of Covid-19, and Brexit. Todd assured that mental health funding for 2023/24 would surpass £1.3 billion, with most local mental health services financed through NHS board budgets, which remain insulated from broader budget adjustments.