The full £120m pledged for mental health in this year’s Scottish budget is currently a one-off, despite a Royal College warning long-term funding will be key to dealing with the fallout from covid.

Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey said the total cash boost was “currently non-recurring” because it was linked to extra spending by the UK government, but some elements would be carried forward into future years.

The pledge was unveiled in the budget and hailed as the ‘single largest investment in mental health in the history of devolution’.

But the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland has questioned whether £120m was sufficient to meet the surge in demand caused by the pandemic and said the funding would only have a limited impact if it was on a one-off basis.

In a letter setting out initial allocations published on Friday the Mental Health Minister confirmed this was the case.

Ms Haughey said: “Colleagues will appreciate that, at this stage, we continue to work within the overall context of a one-year budget.

“In addition, the £120m Fund, allocated as a result of Barnett covid-19 consequential funding, is currently non-recurring.

“We acknowledge that there will be recurring elements of spend, and we will work to address this as service delivery plans are progressed, and through the next Spending Review.”

“…I fully recognise that some investments will ultimately need to be made on a recurring basis if the Recovery And Renewal Fund is to have the transformational impact we all want it to.

Around £40m will be set aside for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) improvement work, including the funding of a clinical director for each service and ‘capacity building to meet expected increases in demand’.

Another £15m will go towards addressing backlogs in CAMHS and psychological therapies waiting lists, as well as the recruitment of a director of psychology for each health board.

‘Although we would anticipate that this funding will be non-recurring, it is possible that some of it may form part of a two-year commitment,’ the letter states.

‘We also recognise that the recruitment of Directors of Psychology will require to be undertaken in a sustainable fashion.’

There is also a commitment for ‘significant investment’ in community support services and multi-disciplinary mental health teams in GP clusters, though no figure is given, and further detail on a goal to develop and increase capacity in key workforce areas is promised in “due course”.

Dr Helen Smith, Chair of the Child and Adolescent Faculty, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: “The funding was welcomed but we need to ensure that just as much money reoccurs next year and it’s not just a flash in the pan. That way we can ensure more psychiatrists are recruited and trained for all services.

“We’re appealing to all political parties in the run up to May’s election to look into how these vital services are funded across each health board.

“The College is also asking for the next administration to use 1% of what is spent on health to go towards CAMHS services by 2026.”

Read more: “Warning siren” over new mums’ mental health; Over half of Scots fear lack of mental health support; Mental health cash boost cannot be “one off”

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