Speeches by Fenton-Glynn.

“In her remarks this morning, Donna Ockenden noted that maternal deaths are at a 20-year high, and total clinical negligence costs are greater than the money spent on maternity services. That should give us pause for thought. It is a national emergency, one that is causing unimaginable pain. The failure of the regulatio…”

“Very quickly, I will go to Abigail for my last question, which is: do you think that the Government are going for the right things in terms of hitting the drivers of poor mental health?”

“To follow up on that, you said it is about lack of hope, thinking about the job market and so forth. Is that for the older young people or is that throughout the piece, from quite young children up to young adults?”

“It is true that the Government do not recognise parental alienation and the syndrome, but courts too often do. In fact, a report released just yesterday by the campaign group Right to Equality that analysed language used in family court judgments found that over 70% of those judgments used victim-blaming language. Does…”

“Thank you. I will hand back to the Chair in the brief moment we have a positive note.”

“Very quickly, I will go to Abigail for my last question, which is: do you think that the Government are going for the right things in terms of hitting the drivers of poor mental health?”

“Will the cost of the long-term mental health impact of austerity have a bigger cost over people’s lives?”

“Thank you. I will hand back to the Chair in the brief moment we have a positive note.”

“I am sorry to be speaking from so far away—that is the weird thing about this Committee Room. I am sure there will be a lot of discussion about social media, but I want to start by looking at the other drivers that impact young people’s mental health. Our first witness mentioned poverty and neurodivergence, and posited…”

“Thank you, that is very powerful. Going back to the original question, Connie, what are the key drivers beyond social media of the increasing mental health problems among young people?”

“I am sorry to be speaking from so far away—that is the weird thing about this Committee Room. I am sure there will be a lot of discussion about social media, but I want to start by looking at the other drivers that impact young people’s mental health. Our first witness mentioned poverty and neurodivergence, and posited…”

“Thank you. That gives us a more complete picture. Jo Hutchinson?”

“Connie, since you are from a think-tank, I will ask a slightly more policy-heavy question. To go back on that, you are suggesting that the result of austerity—closing youth clubs and greater child poverty—has led to an increase in poor mental health among children and young people. Would you then posit that the cost do…”

“To follow up on that, you said it is about lack of hope, thinking about the job market and so forth. Is that for the older young people or is that throughout the piece, from quite young children up to young adults?”

“Connie, since you are from a think-tank, I will ask a slightly more policy-heavy question. To go back on that, you are suggesting that the result of austerity—closing youth clubs and greater child poverty—has led to an increase in poor mental health among children and young people. Would you then posit that the cost do…”

“Thank you, that is very powerful. Going back to the original question, Connie, what are the key drivers beyond social media of the increasing mental health problems among young people?”

“It is true that the Government do not recognise parental alienation and the syndrome, but courts too often do. In fact, a report released just yesterday by the campaign group Right to Equality that analysed language used in family court judgments found that over 70% of those judgments used victim-blaming language. Does…”

“Will the cost of the long-term mental health impact of austerity have a bigger cost over people’s lives?”

“To follow up on that, you said it is about lack of hope, thinking about the job market and so forth. Is that for the older young people or is that throughout the piece, from quite young children up to young adults?”

“To nail that down, the rate of potential gendered violence and so forth from young men has led to a spike in the number of young women and girls suffering from post-traumatic stress—or so it seems?”