We warmly welcomed the announcement of a cross-government mental health strategy for England, something we have been calling on for years. But how will we measure its success?
We’ve drawn up ten key indicators we think will give us the greatest confidence that the strategy will be implemented and implemented well. Read more about our thinking here.
| Indicator | Why it is important |
|---|---|
| Small number of key actions/pledges which are, where possible, quantifiable and timed. | To be effective there needs to be a manageable set of actions that can be given focus, easily followed up and tracked. |
| Funding for agreed actions committed from the outset. | There needs to be meaningful resource and capacity to enable implementation of specific actions. |
| Mental health policy test included. | Allows for future decisions to be aligned with the strategic intent and not undermine it, and a sustainable approach to decision-making based on the strategy’s principles. |
| Mental health commissioner appointed. | Allows for a consistent presence within government championing mental health and monitoring progress on strategy, independent of political changes. |
| Commitment to a cross-government committee (in Cabinet Office) to produce and then oversee progress against the strategy. | Ensures genuine cross-Government commitment and accountability and allows for continuity between those creating and those implementing the strategy. |
| Resources implementation infrastructure and support. | Dedicated resource to drive implementation (dependent on the contents of the strategy) and avoids leaving implementation to chance. Demonstrates a supportive approach to those charged with putting it into practice. |
| Transparent data collection (with clear and easy to understand targets). | Enables tracking of progress (local and national) and scrutiny/accountability (including equalities data) against the strategy. |
| Learning and evaluation and a test and learn approach. | Allows for emerging and new ideas to be developed after the strategy is published. It supports learning from the ground and encourages continuous improvement. |
| Commitment to a periodic review (annual, published) and refresh (every three years). | Allows the strategy to be updated over time, to remain relevant and respond to emerging issues such as technology or social change that might drive poor mental health or develop new solutions to it. |
| Medium to long time frame for implementation. | Real change takes time and persistence to be delivered and embedded. We cannot expect major shifts within 18 months. |
Our responses to the call for evidence
When the Government announced plans for the new mental health strategy for England, it was accompanied by a call for evidence to inform the development and implementation of the strategy. In July 2026 we submitted responses on behalf of Centre for Mental Health, the Children and Young People Secure Estate Managed Clinical Advisory Group (MCAG), and the Head On and Future Minds campaigns. Download our full responses below. View the full set of questions from the call for evidence here.
