The Spending Review 2010 Presented to Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (see this link for full review) states that despite vast cuts across other departments the Department of Health settlement includes a commitment by the government to “expanding access to psychological therapies”. George Osborne speaking in the House of Commons stated “We will expand access to psychological therapies for the young, elderly and those with mental illness."
This commitment has been welcomed by many including Professor Peter Kinderman, a Clinical Psychologist and Member of the British Psychological Society; the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the mental health charities, Mind, Rethink and Young Minds, particularly because previous expansion of psychological therapies via the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme, has focussed on working age adults with difficulties that could be classified as mild to moderate depression or anxiety.
At this stage no further information has been provided on the form this expansion will take, or the timescale for the changes, but the Spending Review highlights the Government’s position “that while it should continue to fund important services, it does not have to be the default provider. This stifles competition and innovation and crowds out civil society”. Therefore the Spending Review announces that to address this and create new opportunities for non-state providers “the Government will pay and tender for more services by results”. Again, at this stage, there is no further information about how results will be measured and therefore how services will tender for mental health or psychological therapies contracts, but this is likely to be an important time for innovation and development within the private sector.
