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The chancellor will announce a £ 500 million package to support mental health services in the aftermath of the “great shock” of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rishi Sunak will promise the new financing in his Spending Review on Wednesday, when he will also deliver his long-term plan for infrastructure investment, the Treasury said.
Most of the spending is expected to go towards specialized services for young people, including in schools, and support for NHS workers.
But Sunak, who will appear on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday, is also expected to start at 8:30 a.m. M., Commit to rapid progress in addressing the backlog of adult mental health referrals.
Rishi Sunak to announce his spending review on Wednesday
The government estimates that mental illness costs the economy up to £ 35bn per year, and hopes the package will address the additional demand for health services. pandemic.
Mr Sunak said: “The pandemic has had a major impact on mental health due to increased isolation and uncertainty.
“That is why it is vital that we do everything we can to support our mental health services and make sure there is help for people.
“This funding will ensure that those who need help get the right support as soon as possible so they don’t have to suffer in silence.”
Sunak’s spending review is highly anticipated, but it could also spark industrial action if it confirms the government will impose a salary cap of millions of public sector workers.
Unions reacted angrily to reports that the chancellor would announce a salary cap, though front-line NHS doctors and nurses are expected to be exempted.
Labor shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds urged Sunak to use his spending to prevent a return to the conditions that allowed the UK to be “so badly affected by the pandemic”.
She said the chancellor “must lay the foundations for that recovery” in his financial update on Wednesday to prevent stocks of protective equipment from dwindling, local services from being “back on their knees” and families being left with little savings “fighting”. with the cost of living. “
“And that must include working together to build a better and safer future for our country, so that we do not reverse the fragility and instability of how things were,” he told the Cooperative Party local government conference.
Mr Sunak will also unveil the long overdue National Infrastructure Strategy for £ 100bn of long-term spending to help tackle the climate crisis and invest in transport.
It was also confirmed that Sunak will change the Treasury “green book,” a set of rules for determining the value of government schemes believed to favor London and the south-east of England.
