Mental health trusts have less money in real terms than they did in 2012, leading psychiatrists have said.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists said that spending in mental health trusts is lower in England now than it was in 2011-12, once inflation is taken into account.
The College examined trusts’ annual reports and data on their spending published by regulators.
It said that 34 of 55 of mental health trusts in England reported lower operating income in real terms in 2016/17 compared to 2011/12.
Professor Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “It is totally unacceptable that when more and more people are coming forward with mental health problems, trusts are receiving less investment than they did, in some cases, seven years ago.”
But NHS England said the research “ignores the fundamental fact that many of the trusts it references provide both mental health and community services entirely unrelated to mental health. So changes in the trusts’ total income tells us nothing about their mental health revenues specifically”.
A spokesman added that during the period studied, funding responsibilities for a number of services that these trusts provide, such as sexual health clinics, transferred from the NHS to local government.
He added: “NHS mental health investment has been increasing in real terms both last year and this.”
Commenting on the figures, Labour said that the Government should ring-fence mental health budgets.
Barbara Keeley, Labour’s shadow minister for mental health, said: “Real terms cuts added to the fragmentation of services have come at a time when demand for mental health services is increasing.”