A cash boost for mental health services will “end the stigma which has forced too many to suffer in silence”, the Chancellor said.

East Anglian Daily Times: Young man sitting alone in a dark room.Young man sitting alone in a dark room. (Image: Archant)

The Prime Minister said its budget would increase by £20.5 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24.

“The NHS 10-year plan will include a new mental health crisis service with comprehensive mental health support available in every major A&E, children and young people’s crisis teams in every part of the country, more mental health ambulances, more safe havens in the community and a 24-hour mental health crisis hotline,” Mr Hammond said.

“These new services will ensure that people suffering from a crisis, young or old, can get the help they need, ending the stigma which has forced too many to suffer in silence and ending too the tragedy of too many lives lost to suicide.”

Schools-based mental health support will be made available and extra funds will be ploughed into services for people with severe mental illness.

East Anglian Daily Times: Charlotte Bate of Mad HR. Picture: Simply C PhotographyCharlotte Bate of Mad HR. Picture: Simply C Photography (Image: © 2017 Simply C Photography)

Jon Neal, Chief Executive of Suffolk Mind said: “All investment into mental health services is welcome, and what the Government is talking about here will certainly go some way to alleviating the demand on over-stretched crisis services.

“We’d (also) like to see more investment in prevention. This means working with employers and schools to create environments that are good for getting key emotional needs met. For example, making sure workers have time and space to get away from things and relax at certain points in the day, or giving children freedom to pursue learning and develop resilience to equip them for demands and challenges of the modern workplace.

“We’d love Government to look at all initiatives across the public sector and consider whether they are likely to cause stress and anxiety through creating barriers to meeting emotional needs. Investment is always welcome, but cultural change is free.”

Charlotte Bate, a director at Mad HR in Ipswich, said she welcomed the increase in funding. In HR, we have been seeing the impact of mental health problems on employers in terms of the cost of absences. Hopefully, this will give a nod to encourage employers to better support employees with such challenges.”