Children's Commissioner: Children’s mental health services 2023-24 (May 2025)

Summary

This report describes children’s access to mental health services in England during the 2023-24 financial year, based on new analysis of NHS England data.

Content

Demand continues to grow for Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS, commonly known as CAMHS) , with the number of children with active referrals increasing by nearly 10,000 since last year to 958,200.

Compared to last year, there have been some areas of progress: fewer children’s referrals are being closed before treatment, and investment in CYPMHS has increased in real terms and when adjusted for inflation. However, figures continue to highlight some concerning trends:

• Many children were still experiencing long waits to access mental health services, and the number of children with active referrals who were still waiting for treatment to begin at the end of the year has increased by almost 50,000 children from 270,300 in 2022-23 to 320,000 in 2023- 24.
• Almost half of those referred for being ‘in crisis’ have their referrals closed or were still waiting for their second contact at the end of the year.
• There has been an uptick in children being referred for suspected and diagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions; these conditions are associated with some of the longest waits.
• The accessibility of mental health services in England continues to vary widely from one ICB area to another, leading to a postcode lottery in children’s access to suitable support for their mental health conditions.