In 2008 Nick Clegg came to the Sopwell House Hotel in St Albans to make one of his first speeches as newly elected Liberal Democrat leader. The occasion was the annual Guardian Public Services Summit.
He chose to concentrate on the inadequacies of service provision for the mentally ill. It was not an obvious crowd-puller for a new leader and therefore provided an interesting perspective on Nick as a rather unusual politician. I had to meet him at the station and drive him to the venue – no ministerial cars then.
The audience were struck by his passion on this issue and that he should have chosen such a relatively unsexy subject. Their reception was warm, but doubtless they thought that this was yet another set of noble aspiration from a third party leader who would never have the opportunity to deliver on them.
Last year he came back to the same conference and was able to tell them how – even within huge constraints on public expenditure – the new coalition government was determined to tackle this issue with its “No Health Without Mental Health” strategy targeting an additional £400 million to ensure better access to psychological therapies.
It was reported yesterday that the Department of Health has provided £16 million as part of this initiative for the Time to Change campaign, aimed at children in schools and youth clubs and via social networking websites.
Nick Clegg spoke at the launch and said: “This is particularly important as young people suffering with a mental illness are particularly vulnerable to the stigma surrounding it. They can be bullied, marginalised, left to suffer alone, too afraid to talk about what they are going through. This is a tragedy.”
Government figures suggest one in four people will experience mental health problems during their lives. The latest figures show that more than 500,000 people have entered treatment for mental illnesses between July 2010 and September 2011, while 24,000 were able to move off sick pay and benefits after receiving therapy for their problems.
The situation won’t be transformed overnight. But a politician spoke about an issue which is not an obvious vote winner, got into government after the election, and then continues to show the interest and determination that more resources should be found.
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