Petition · past parliament
Improve mental health parity for children and young people in the UK
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Children and adolescents in the UK are currently facing long waits for mental health services, psychiatry and ASD assessments. This needs to be brought in line with treatment times for physical health conditions with immediate mental health support provided on presentation to primary care services.
Children and young people in the UK are currently being failed by services that do not adequately meet their mental health needs. No child should have to reach a crisis situation before they receive an assessment of need.
Services are not adequately equipped to deal with the number of young people experiencing mental health issues and there is little to no parity with physical health services.
Services are not adequately equipped to deal with the number of young people experiencing mental health issues and there is little to no parity with physical health services.
Why it was rejected
It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.
Petitions must call for a specific action that the UK Government or Parliament are directly responsible for.
Decisions about treatment of patients are a matter for the NHS and individual clinicians, not the Government or Parliament. As a result it is not possible for the Government or Parliament to take the action you have requested.
We have published the following petition, which you might like to sign:
Ensure mental health assessments for children are within 4 weeks of GP referral: Ensure mental health assessments for children are within 4 weeks of GP referral
We could accept a petition calling on the Government to increase funding for children and young people's mental health services, if that's something you'd like to happen.
Decisions about treatment of patients are a matter for the NHS and individual clinicians, not the Government or Parliament. As a result it is not possible for the Government or Parliament to take the action you have requested.
We have published the following petition, which you might like to sign:
Ensure mental health assessments for children are within 4 weeks of GP referral: Ensure mental health assessments for children are within 4 weeks of GP referral
We could accept a petition calling on the Government to increase funding for children and young people's mental health services, if that's something you'd like to happen.
Timeline
| 9 Nov 2021 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 15 Nov 2021 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
15 Nov 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.