Huge rise in drug misuse and mental health concerns in children in need since Covid

New figures released by the Government’s Department for Education and analysed by national addiction treatment experts at The UKAT Group show a 30% rise in drug misuse and mental health concerns in children in need flagged during assessments made by social workers.

Assessments of children who are in the social care system across the country are undertaken by social workers, and during those assessments, social workers can raise concerns regarding the children in need having drug misuse or mental health concerns.

Latest figures for 2024 have been released and analysed in comparison to 2019 figures by drug misuse and mental health experts The UKAT Group and their findings are staggering.

The UKAT Group’s analysis shows that collectively, drug misuse and mental health concerns for children in need have risen by a staggering 30% since the Covid crisis.

Before the pandemic, in 2019, social workers logged 85,540 reports of drug misuse or mental health concerns in the children in the social care system.

This figure has risen by 30% in just five years to 111,450 reports of concern for the same reasons last year.

The UKAT Group’s analysis shows that in 2019, just 17% of all assessments made by social workers - 498,870- that year found either a drug misuse or a mental health concern for children in need.

Now, in the figures released for 2024, the same concerns have been logged for 1 in 5 (22%) of all assessments made by social workers- 506,370- for children in need that year.

Zaheen Ahmed, Director of Addiction Therapy at The UKAT Group comments; “We believe that increased accessibility to cheap, pocket-money priced drugs like Ketamine for example could be a reason why concerns for drug misuse have risen in young people since the pandemic.

“It’s of great concern to see the 40% rise in mental health concerns for children in need since the Covid crisis, however, it does not come as a surprise to us. The demand for mental health support services far outweighs the supply, and the situation only worsened during the pandemic.

"We urge the Government to really look at these figures and put real investment and effort into drug and mental health support services for children in need.”

Confidential help and advice is available for drug misuse and mental health from The UKAT Group.