Previous government strategies have emphasised the importance of preventive services for mental health and wellbeing alongside treatment for mental illness. However, we, and many stakeholders, are concerned that preventive and public health services have not been given the same priority and focus as NHS mental health treatment services. From 2018–19 to 2022–23, the local authority public health grant had a real-terms reduction of 6% and in 2021–22, only 2% of total local authority spend on public health was on mental health.50 The Department and NHSE agreed on the important role of prevention and early intervention, and argued that “a fair amount of progress” has been made in promoting mental health over the last 10 to 15 years, but acknowledged that not all areas were fully mature in terms of preventive infrastructure.51