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Significant health savings could be achieved by ensuring that vulnerable young people are able to access early advice to resolve their social problems. This was among the findings of a
survey commissioned by Youth Access to investigate both the social welfare-related legal problems faced by, and the mental well being of, clients of youth advice agencies. Youth Access believes that unless massive cuts to voluntary sector advice services are reversed, the combination of welfare reforms and rising homelessness could overburden NHS budgets.
Researchers found indications that there were high levels of mental health problems among young clients seeking social welfare advice. Forty-five per cent of young clients reported that their mental or physical health had suffered as a direct result of their social welfare problems.
The report argues that by failing to provide early access to appropriate advice services for young clients, there are high knock-on costs to other public services; for example, researchers found that 40 per cent of young clients reported becoming homeless, with the cost estimated to equate to £1,438,904 per 1,000 young clients.
Commenting on the findings of the research, Barbara Rayment, director of Youth Access, said: ‘Failing to address rising social welfare problems could cripple NHS and social care budgets. The research indicates that youth advice services are “clearly cost-effective”, even when viewed only in terms of their impact on mental health.’