Policy update – October 2020

COVID-19 mental health campaign roundtable

In order to discuss the predicted impact of the pandemic on mental health, we jointly hosted an online roundtable event with BACP and BPC earlier this month. Our panel featured the Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, tireless mental health campaigner and former MP, Sir Norman Lamb, and Chief Executive of the Tavistock and Portman Trust, Paul Jenkins. The event was also attended by a number of major mental health organisations. There was a productive discussion of the need for our sector to come together in the face of the many challenges presented in the wake of this pandemic, not least in ensuring there is the workforce to deliver the support people will need in the coming months and years. The collaborative tone struck across organisations and professions gives us great hope for joint campaigning work in the future.

UKCP’s submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review

The UK government conducts a Comprehensive Spending Review typically every 3-4 years to determine how funds are allocated to each government department. Submitting to this year’s review, we took the opportunity to make the case for the unique value of psychotherapy in addressing the urgent and growing need for mental health support across the UK over the coming years, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as making the case for a VAT exemption for accredited psychotherapists and counsellors.

If you’d like to read more about our submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review, visit our website [LINK].

Parliamentary meetings

The Policy Team have recently met with several parliamentarians to raise the profile of psychotherapy among policymakers, including Tracey Crouch, a former senior Minister in Theresa May’s government.

We’ve highlighted the ways in which UKCP psychotherapists can help address the increased mental distress people are experiencing in the wake of COVID-19 and the underemployment of psychotherapists in NHS settings. As a result of these meetings, we’ve recently had several parliamentarians table parliamentary questions on behalf of UKCP, in order to publicly scrutinise government mental health policies.

If you’d like to read more about our policy goals, visit our website [LINK].