Policy and Public Affairs member update – February 2025

We issued a parliamentary briefing to raise our significant concerns about the Government's plans to defund all Level 7 apprenticeships, which will disproportionately impact the NHS and the psychological workforce.  

This month, we submitted evidence to the education committee inquiry on solving the SEND crisis and submitted evidence to inform the Government's 2025 Spending Review. 

We also responded to the Older People's Commissioner for Wales' call for feedback on actions she should take in her first term in office. 

Meetings, events, and networking 

More than 20 BPS members from across our divisions, sections and faculties joined a roundtable event to discuss how we can drive real change for children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. The insight from this discussion will inform the BPS's future policy positions.

We attended the Mental Health Programme Board and Independent Advisory & Oversight Group meeting for Q3 and have been invited to join a workforce sub-group to provide support and guidance on workforce-related policy. We also attended the Council for Work and Health Mental Health sub-group meeting. 

BPS President Dr Roman Raczka, joined a panel at a recent Westminster Health Forum event on next steps for mental health provision in England. The event was chair by Sojan Joseph MP, and the event assessed priorities for the future of mental health policy and services in England. 

In Wales, we met with NAPEP Cymru and Cardiff University to discuss points of common interest and how we can support each other in our messaging on the importance of educational psychology, as part of the Psychology Matters programme.  

Bills passing through parliament 

We are continuing to monitor developments of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill as it continues its passage through Parliament. The Bill will be going through report stage in the House of Commons shortly. A summary of the key policy positions we are calling for can be found here.  

Activity in Wales 

We've produced a summary of our policy and public affairs activity in Wales last year. 

We'll also be finalising our manifesto for the next Senedd elections in March, working with the Welsh Branch and Committee members.  

Activity in Scotland 

Following submission of our response to Scottish Labour's consultation on proposed themes for their manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections, we will be submitting further information on CYP issues, including school non-attendance and support for additional needs. 

We continue to highlight the valuable role psychologists play as part of our Psychology Matters campaign. An interview with Lynne Taylor, the Scottish Government Principal Psychology Advisor, will go live in March

The BPS manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections (2026) is a work in progress and a first draft will go out to BPS Scottish policy group members for initial comment in March.

On 26 February, BPS attended an RC Psych Scottish Parliament reception, "Awareness into action: a commitment to supporting people affected by mental illness". Speakers included Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing & Sport; Paul Sweeney MSP, Scottish Labour spokesperson for mental health; and Dr Alistair Cook, the outgoing Principal Medical Officer for Mental Health.

NHS staff wellbeing 

We met with NHS England to discuss how we can support their work related to staff wellbeing, and their ongoing review of mental health provision for staff. We also responded to a new report by the Nuffield Trust which shows soaring dissatisfaction rates among staff in the health service's youngest cohort, aged 21 to 30, and the news that the NHS facing the worst winter pressures seen in many years. 

Our campaigning work calling for psychological support for NHS staff, and the need to address an educational psychologist recruitment and retention crisis, continues to move forward. 

Fight for children in the SEND system 

We're working on a new report which aims to highlight the real-life impact of educational psychologist in our education systems across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The report will feature case studies from educational psychologists which showcases the diverse impact of their work. 

We responded to several news stories, including, a Local Government Association report highlighting the potential insolvency facing councils providing SEND services, and an Educational Policy Institute report which shows children are facing a postcode lottery for the additional learning support they need. We welcomed a government announcement in Northern Ireland of a plan to increase the number of educational psychologists as part of its SEN reform, as well as cautiously welcoming the UK Education Secretary's announcement of a 'new era' of school standards. 

We worked with Dr Abigail Wright, a Specialist Early Years Educational Psychologist in Wales, on an opinion editorial for Children and Young People Now about the damaging language used when referring to 'school readiness'. 

Looking ahead 

The Spring Statement will be taking place on 26 March, and we will be monitoring its developments and responding.   

In Wales, we're currently drafting responses to the UK and Welsh Parliaments (Senedd) inquiries into prisons, probation and rehabilitation, the impact the Mental Health Act reform on Welsh powers and Welsh services, and the future of general practice in Wales. We'll also be finalising our manifesto for the next Senedd elections in March, working with the Welsh Branch and Committee members.

Visit our consultations and briefings page to see which consultations are open for evidence and read our latest government briefings.