In my maiden speech recently I spoke about my grave concern for those most vulnerable within society and those who are disadvantaged in some way. I have already dedicated myself to reducing the number of children living in poverty in Bath, which, in areas of deprivation in the city, has been estimated to be approximately one in five. I intend to spend much time espousing the Conservative case for social justice in the coming years, which is a particular passion of mine given my mother's own disability and my work alongside the National Health Service for seven years. Recently I have worked alongside MIND, the Trauma Recovery Centre in Bath and also paid a visit to Bath Carer’s Centre. I hope to do more to support local people.
Poor mental health is the largest cause of disability in the UK and I think it is right that we do all we can to help people. That is why I am pleased that Ministers have now taken steps to ensure that mental health conditions are treated with the same importance as physical health. The Government has committed £400m since 2011 to support psychological therapies, including depression, for adults, children and young people.
Patients needing treatment for a mental health problem can now to choose where they get their care. In addition, waiting times for mental health treatment, including a maximum waiting time of 18 weeks for talking therapy are being introduced ensuring that 300,000 more people can access talking therapies, on top of the 600,000 that already receive them.
I am also greatly encouraged that Ministers have committed to improving mental health crisis care. That is why the Government has negotiated the Crisis Care Concordat. This sets out the standards of care people should expect if they suffer a mental health crisis and details how the emergency services should respond.
I also welcome the £54m that Ministers have invested in a dedicated programme for children and young people and established the new Children and Young People's Mental Health and Well-Being Taskforce. To build on this work the Chancellor has announced, that the Government will invest £1bn over the next five years to start new access standards which will see over 110,000 more children cared for over the next Parliament. Alongside this, the Government will be providing £118m by 2018-19 to complete the roll-out of the Children and Young People's Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies programme.