According to a survey carried out in the UK in May 2020, it was found that 34 percent of respondents reported that the coronavirus pandemic has has a somewhat negative impact on their mental health. A further seven percent of respondents said the pandemic has had a very negative impact on their mental health, although 46 percent reported no impact.

The latest number of cases in the UK can be found here. For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

This publication contains the official statistics about uses of the Mental Health Act(1) ('the Act') in England during 2020-21. Under the Act, people with a mental disorder may be formally detained in hospital (or 'sectioned') in the interests of their own health or safety, or for the protection of other people. They can also be treated in the community but subject to recall to hospital for assessment and/or treatment under a Community Treatment Order (CTO). In 2016-17, the way we source and produce these statistics changed. Previously these statistics were produced from the KP90 aggregate data collection. They are now primarily produced from the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS). The MHSDS provides a much richer data source for these statistics, allowing for new insights into uses of the Act. However, some providers that make use of the Act are not yet submitting data to the MHSDS, or submitting incomplete data. Improvements in data quality have been made over the past year. NHS Digital is working with partners to ensure that all providers are submitting complete data and this publication includes guidance on interpreting these statistics. Please note: This publication covers the 2020-21 reporting year and, as such, it is likely the impact of COVID-19 may be evident as the national lockdown began on 23 March 2020. The time series data for people subject to detention does show a decrease in people subject to detention in March 2021 so the context of COVID-19 should be kept in mind when using and interpreting these statistics. Footnotes (1) The Mental Health Act 1983 as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007 and other legislation.

This is the first in a series of follow up reports to the Mental Health and Young People Survey (MHCYP) 2017, exploring the mental health of children and young people in July 2020, during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and changes since 2017. Experiences of family life, education and services, and worries and anxieties during the COVID-19 pandemic are also examined. The sample for the Mental Health Survey for Children and Young People, 2020 (MHCYP 2020), wave 1 follow up was based on 3,570 children and young people who took part in the MHCYP 2017 survey, with both surveys also drawing on information collected from parents. Cross-sectional analyses are presented, addressing two primary aims: Aim 1: Comparing mental health between 2017 and 2020 – the likelihood of a mental disorder has been assessed against completion of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in both years in Topic 1 by various demographics. Aim 2: Describing life during the COVID-19 pandemic - the report examines the circumstances and experiences of children and young people in July 2020 and the preceding months, covering: Family dynamics (Topic 2) Parent and child anxieties about COVID-19, and well-being (Topic 3) Access to education and health services (Topic 4) Changes in circumstances and activities (Topic 5) The data is broken down by gender and age bands of 5 to 10 year olds and 11 to 16 year olds for all categories, and 17 to 22 years old for certain categories, as well as by whether a child is unlikely to have a mental health disorder, possibly has a mental health disorder and probably has a mental health disorder. This study was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, commissioned by NHS Digital, and carried out by the Office for National Statistics, the National Centre for Social Research, University of Cambridge and University of Exeter. Note: On 21 December 2020 the pdf was amended to ensure that Figure 5.6 was displaying the correct figures from the underlying data table.

In a survey carried out in March 2020, 51 percent of young people in the United Kingdom (UK) reported that the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting public health measures have made their mental health a bit worse. Furthermore, 32 percent say the impact of the coronavirus crisis has made their mental health much worse, while only seven percent state that their mental health has improved in this time. The number of current coronavirus cases in the UK can be found here. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

This publication provides the most timely picture available of people using NHS funded secondary mental health, learning disabilities and autism services in England. These are experimental statistics which are undergoing development and evaluation. This information will be of use to people needing access to information quickly for operational decision making and other purposes. More detailed information on the quality and completeness of these statistics is made available later in our Mental Health Bulletin: Annual Report publication series. • COVID-19 and the production of statistics Due to the coronavirus illness (COVID-19) disruption, the quality and coverage of some of our statistics has been affected, for example by an increase in non-submissions for some datasets. We are also seeing some different patterns in the submitted data. For example, fewer patients are being referred to hospital and more appointments being carried out via phone/telemedicine/email. Therefore, data should be interpreted with care over the COVID-19 period. • Early release of statistics To support the ongoing COVID-19 work, Provisional April 2021 monthly statistics were made available early and presented on our supplementary information pages. Please see the 'Supplementary information requests' section below. • Annual Statistics This publication includes annual statistics for the 2020-21 reporting year. Included are the number of People in contact with services - April 2020 to March 2021, and the number of People in contact with services with a hospital provider spell - April 2020 to March 2021, with age group breakdowns for both counts. In addition, the number of children and young people accessing NHS funded community mental health services (MHS69) - April 2020 to March 2021 are published here. Further annual statistics will be published in the annual Mental Health Bulletin. • Updates to measures For details of new measures, or changes to existing measures, see the 'Notes on Measures' page. Full details of any changes are also available in the associated Metadata file.

A survey conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) in May 2020, found that 21 percent of respondents had experienced a little more anxiety than usual during the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown. Furthermore, six percent of respondents reported experiencing anxiety for the first time during this period. The latest number of cases in the UK can be found here. For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

In 2014, 29% of Black women had experienced a common mental disorder in the week before being surveyed, a higher rate than for White women.

Around ** percent of respondents reported feeling more emotionally exhausted since the COVID-19 outbreak. This statistic shows the percentage of workers who reported select mental health symptoms since the COVID-19 outbreak, globally as of April 2020. The survey was conducted among employees in select countries: Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This report presents findings from the third (wave 3) in a series of follow up reports to the 2017 Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) survey, conducted in 2022. The sample includes 2,866 of the children and young people who took part in the MHCYP 2017 survey. The mental health of children and young people aged 7 to 24 years living in England in 2022 is examined, as well as their household circumstances, and their experiences of education, employment and services and of life in their families and communities. Comparisons are made with 2017, 2020 (wave 1) and 2021 (wave 2), where possible, to monitor changes over time.

In November 2020, a survey carried out in Europe found that coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic unsurprisingly had a negative impact on the mental health of the majority of Europeans. In the United Kingdom (UK), 65 percent of those surveyed reported that COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the state of their mental health, in contrast only five percent in the UK said it had a positive impact. Italy with 62 percent of respondents reporting a negative impact on their mental health was second most affected on the list. For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The Mental Health of Children and Young People Surveys (MHCYP) series provides data about the mental health of young people living in Great Britain.

The MHCYP was first carried out in 1999, capturing information on 5 to 15-year-olds. It was conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on behalf of the Department of Health (now known as the Department of Health and Social Care, or DHSC), The Scottish Health Executive and the National Assembly for Wales. The following survey in the series was conducted in 2002 and focused on children looked after by their local authority. The third survey was conducted in 2004 and collected information from 5 to 16-year-olds. Follow-ups to this survey were conducted after 6 months and again after 3 years.

NHS Digital commissioned the 2017 survey on behalf of the DHSC. It collected information on 2 to 19-year-olds living in England. The survey was carried out by a consortium led by NatCen Social Research, which included the ONS and Youth In Mind.

The MHCYP 2020 survey was a Wave 1 follow-up to the 2017 survey and was conducted under the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020, as directed by the then Secretary of State for Health. The Wave 2 follow-up was conducted in 2021, and Wave 3 in 2022.

Further information can be found on the NHS Digital Mental Health of Children and Young People Surveys webpage.

A similar series covering adults, the Adult Surveys of Psychiatric Morbidity, is also commissioned by NHS Digital.

The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2020: Special Licence Access (MHCYP) is the first in a series of follow-up surveys to the MHCYP 2017 survey (which in itself was the third survey of its kind - see SN 8467 - with previous MHCYPs carried out in 1999, 2004). The 2020 MHCYP was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and commissioned by NHS England. The survey was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen Social Research), the Office for National Statistics, the University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter.

The MHCYP surveys provide England's Official Statistics on trends in child mental health. The MHCYP 2017 was conducted face-to-face and involved data collection from a random sample of children and young people (aged 2 to 19 years). MHCYP 2017 participants (now aged 5 to 22 years) who agreed to be re-contacted for future research were invited to take part in a follow-up online survey in July 2020. Therefore, the achieved MHCYP 2020 sample for this (Wave 1) follow-up was based on 3,570 children and young people who took part in MHCYP 2017, with both surveys also drawing on information collected from parents.

The two main aims of MHCYP 2020 were:

• to compare mental health between 2017 and 2020 - the likelihood of a mental disorder was assessed against completion of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in both years; and
• to describe life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  

Latest edition information

For the second edition (September 2024) a new version of the data file was deposited, with derived variables included that had not been populated in the first edition.

Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak intensified in the United Kingdom (UK) the country has been placed in lockdown, restricting the movement of residents. During this lockdown, 72 percent of young people with underlying health conditions say that face-to-face calls with friends is helpful in coping and self-managing their mental health during this time. On the other hand, 66 percent report that watching or reading the news is unhelpful for their mental health during this time. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

In June 2020, ** percent of 16 to 39 year olds reported experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of depression, prior to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown around ** percent of those aged between 16 and 39 years reported depression symptoms. Across all adults, signs of depression has more than doubled when compared with before the pandemic. For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

A survey carried out in the United Kingdom in May 2020, found that 56 percent of respondents said not knowing when the current coronavirus pandemic and lockdown will end is their main reason for heightened feelings of anxiety, while a further 40 percent reported concerns for their family is the main reason for greater anxiety. The latest number of cases in the UK can be found here. For further information about the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.