Luciana Berger MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health, commenting on the publication of the Centre Forum’s report on children’s mental health, said:

“It’s utterly outrageous that vulnerable children and young people are getting turned away from the help they so desperately need.

“The Tories talk about putting prevention first, but the reality is young people with poor mental health are only getting help when it is too late.

“On this Government’s watch, services have been cut, the number of specialist doctors and nurses has fallen and more children have been placed on adult wards or forced to travel hundreds of miles just to get a bed.

"We have a system in crisis which is only focused on crisis. This is bad for the NHS and it is bad for those young people in need of help.

“David Cameron needs to start taking some responsibility for this situation. Rather than standing by and doing nothing, the Prime Minister needs to start delivering on his promises and bring about the reform to children’s mental health that is long overdue.”