On 27 October, Kevan spoke in a debate on young people’s mental health which was being debated in Parliament following the publication of the 2015 Youth Select Committee’s Mental Health Inquiry report.

The Youth Select Committee is a British Youth Council (BYC) initiative and is supported by the House of Commons. It mirrors the UK Parliament Select Committee structure and gives young people the chance to scrutinise issues and hold inquiries on public matters they find important.

Kevan paid tribute to the work of the Youth Select Committee during the debate, praising its member for giving MPs another opprtunity to raise mental health issues in the Commons.

During the debate Kevan said:

“The unique thing about the report is that it gives those of us more advanced in years an insight into pressures on young people today that were not there when we were younger and into the challenges for parents and schools in dealing with them. The core of the report is very important, because it deals with a lot of issues that also affect adult mental health services.”

Later in his speech, Kevan highlighted how cuts to youth services were having an impact on mental health, he said:

“It is no good just looking at mental health in terms of the Department of Health, because the cuts that have taken place in local government are having a direct impact on the provision of mental health services—I am talking about the closure of youth services and voluntary sector organisations that provide mental health services locally. This is a false economy. If we are putting more money into health and taking it out from elsewhere in the system, we will create an ongoing problem.”

To read Kevan’s speech in full, along with the rest of the debate, click on the link below:

https://goo.gl/bIQc9r