Welsh government announced extra funding to support students mental health

The Welsh Education Minister has announced over £2m will go towards funding university mental health and well-being services.

Jeremy Miles, Welsh Education Minister, has claimed £2.3m has been allocated to support students mental health who are planning on moving to university or equally those that have been affected by the pandemic and/or the mounting cost-of-living pressures.

The funding has been distributed to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and is said to improve and promote money advice services in higher education to help students facing financial pressures. 

HEFCW  is asking universities and colleges to work with students’ unions to make sure the funding makes the best possible impact on students’ quality of life. 

Jeremy Miles said: ‘The move from college or school to university can be a tough time for your mental health and well-being, as well as the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the lasting effects of the pandemic.

‘I’m pleased we’re able to provide more support this financial year so students can get financial help and maintain their well-being.’

Lynne Neagle, the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, said: ‘Mental health and wellbeing services are a vital way to support students, especially when they face big changes like leaving home for the first time.

‘I’m please we’ve been able to invest in this support and extend hardship funding to help ease the financial pressures on students too.’

The funding that has been announced by the Welsh government yesterday has come at a very good time – a recent study, which examined children’s medical records in Scotland, uncovered the number of antidepressants prescribed amongst young people had increased by 59% since 2015, suggesting more work needs to be done to provide additional support.

Additionally, in England, experts from the charity Young Minds, an organisation dedicated to fighting for young people’s mental health, discovered 67% of the young people they surveyed in 2021 said the pandemic will have long-term negative effects on their mental health.

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