Government quells fears it could scrap coalition’s mental health funding pledge

The Conservative government will invest the extra £1.25bn in children’s mental health services over the next parliament that was promised by the coalition prior to the election, the Department of Health has said.

The funding pledge was included in the coalition’s 2015-16 budget proposals set out in March. But the Conservatives election victory means that chancellor George Osborne will announce an ‘emergency budget’ in July that will replace the coalition plans with his party’s own spending commitments.

Devo Manc: a shrewd political move that keeps Treasury control without the responsibility

Signed by the chancellor, George Osborne, and the leaders of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the latest twist in the Devo Manc agenda was the unique agreement that purported to grant residents “more control over the decisions that affect their lives”. Yet closer inspection suggests a more nuanced picture.

The NHS faces unrealistic expectations, says; Michele Moran

The NHS faces unrealistic expectations, says; Michele Moran
Michele Moran, chief executive of Manchester mental health and social care trust, says adapting resources to deliver services for vulnerable people is her biggest challenge

Tory councillor Mark Winn says food banks are only used by ‘those with drug, alcohol and mental health problems’

A Tory councillor has provoked a Twitter backlash after claiming that food banks are only visited by “those with drug, alcohol and mental health problems”.

Mark Winn, who is also a civil servant with the Ministry of Defence and until recently held an appointment on Buckinghamshire council’s health scrutiny committee, hit out at what he called “the BBC doing Labour’s bidding” after watching an episode of Casualty on Saturday night.