27 November 2025
Deprivation, inequality and injustice are major drivers of mental ill health, and we urgently need a cross-government plan to build a mentally healthier future, Centre for Mental Health chief executive Andy Bell said today.
Responding to new data released from the 2023/24 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, Andy Bell said:
“While rates of the most serious mental illnesses have remained stable in England over the last decade, it is a worry to see a steep rise in eating disorder prevalence from 6.4% in 2007 to 9.1% now. Eating disorders are the most life-threatening mental health problems, and we need to understand better why they are rising and what can be done to turn this around.
“Today’s figures once again underline the inequalities that create so much mental ill health in our society. Debt, deprivation and unemployment are all associated with a higher risk of psychosis and bipolar disorder. Hazardous use of alcohol and illicit drug use are also strongly associated with adversity and mental distress. It is therefore essential to address the root causes of mental distress: including poverty and wealth inequality, the housing crisis, racism, and gender-based violence.
“There are positive signs in today’s new data of a reduction in the hazardous use of alcohol, especially among younger age groups. But younger people are also reporting higher levels of self-harm.
“The prevalence of autism has not changed, at around 1% of the adult population. This is an important finding, which suggests that rates of autism are stable, but with greater recognition more people are now coming forward to seek help. It is also important to explore why autism is so much more common among those facing the most deprivation.
“Today’s findings make it all the more welcome that the Chancellor yesterday took the vital step of ending the two-child limit for universal credit. By lifting thousands of children out of poverty, this could reduce future levels of mental ill health and start to turn around the rising tide of distress that we have seen over the last decade. But there is much more to be done to prevent mental distress and ill health, and we hope the Government will act now to build on what it has started.”
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