Question reference: S5W-33552
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 16 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 6 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the most recently-published estimate of £10.7 billion, which was set out the June 2018 paper, Public Health Priorities for Scotland, being a figure for 2009-10 that was taken from an earlier report, whether it will provide an updated estimate of the annual national cost of dealing with mental health problems, after taking account of social and care costs, economic outputs and human costs.
Answer
The figure referenced by the member in the Public Health Priorities For Scotland paper was an estimate provided by one of our third sector partners. It is therefore not a figure that the Scottish Government currently plans to update.
Our Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan, published on 8 October, contains a comprehensive summary of the evidence of the mental health impacts of Covid-19.