Tackling the roots of mental ill-health

SIR – Supporting people who encounter mental ill-health is one of the foremost challenges of our generation. Yet we are only now looking seriously at how to prevent, rather than just treat, mental illness – despite the extensive evidence base for effective prevention methods.

Tackling conduct disorder, the most common childhood mental health condition, is one of the best ways to prevent long-term mental ill-health and its high lifetime costs.

Evidence-based parenting programmes are widely recognised as a highly effective approach to supporting families and boosting children’s wellbeing. They also ease the burden on the public purse, having been proven in trials around the world to offer significant return on investment. Yet they are currently available only sporadically in Britain, leaving most families who want help without the support they need.

As the Government prepares for the prevention green paper and the spending review, we urge ministers to ensure that investment in parenting support is included as a crucial and cost-effective method of tackling mental ill-health. Graham Allen

Founder, Early Intervention Foundation

Luciana Berger MP (Change) Matt Buttery

Chief Executive, Triple P – Positive Parenting Program

George Howarth MP (Lab) Sarah Hughes

Chief Executive, Centre for Mental Health

Norman Lamb MP (Lib Dem) Professor Jim Mcmanus Vice-president, Association of Directors of Public Health Professor Stephen Scott

Professor of Child Health and Behaviour, King’s College London