Briefing on Children’s Mental Health Services – 2021-22

Introduction

This is the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s (OCC) sixth annual report on the state of children’s mental health services in England. The report aims to assess children’s ability to access Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) provision in England in 2021-22 and how (if at all) this has changed over the past few years. Using new figures sourced from NHS Digital, NHS England and NHS Improvement, this report examines the following at both a national and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) level:

• Numbers of children referred to and accessing CYPMHS
• Numbers of children referred that were not accepted into treatment during the 2021-22 financial year, as proxied by the numbers not receiving two contacts with CYPMHS
• Average waiting times
• Spending on children’s mental health