Ed Miliband will vow to end the 'scandalous' neglect of mental health services if Labour takes power in May's General Election.
The Labour leader is expected to commit his party to raising budgets for children's mental health services, expanding early intervention work and widening access to school-based therapy.
'We will only ensure the NHS can survive the very real funding pressures it faces if we stop making false economies by stripping back preventative services and start making smart investments in early intervention and support. Without decisive action to tackle problems before they become too serious, the NHS will be overwhelmed as it struggles to pick up the pieces,' Miliband will say.
Unveiling the findings of an independent Mental Health Taskforce in Enfield, Miliband will outline plans to improve joint working between councils, the NHS and schools to ensure all children can access counselling or therapy.
Labour is also pledging to increase the proportion of mental health budget spent on children, warning these 'vital services' currently receive only 6% of funding and had been 'stripped back in recent years'.
'Labour will work to reverse the damage suffered by child mental health services under this Government. And we will set an ambition that, over time, the proportion of the mental health budget spent on children will rise as we make smart investments to improve mental health in childhood, in the process lessening some of the demand on mental health services when young people turn into adults,' Miliband will say.
