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Young people are being overdiagnosed with mental health conditions, Sir Jeremy Hunt<\/a> has said, as he backed calls to radically reform the Send system.<\/p>\n The former health secretary argued that society has \u201clost sight of the fundamental reality that child development is a messy and uneven process\u201d, in the foreword of a Policy Exchange<\/a> report.<\/p>\n The report titled Out of Control argues that definitions of mental ill health and neurodivergence have been socially expanded, leading to overwhelm in the system.<\/p>\n One in five children in England<\/a> have special educational needs and disabilities (Send), the report states, placing huge pressure on support services.<\/p>\n The report, which focuses on addressing the rise in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders among children and young people, calls for a reinvention of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), and for children with the most severe needs to get the support they deserve faster.<\/p>\n In its foreword, Sir Jeremy wrote: \u201cMental ill-health and neurodiversity now accounts for more than half of the post-pandemic increase we have seen in claimants of disability benefit. Spending on Send provision has sky-rocketed and risks the financial sustainability of local government.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than assuming that more money or more of the same is the answer, we need to ask more fundamental questions. Is a cash transfer \u2013 or a label that means young people are treated and come to see themselves as different \u2013 the right way to help them? What about the importance of good work, physical activity, social connection? These factors are too often deprioritised in our policy prescription.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross the political spectrum, and amongst a growing range of practitioners, it is now recognised that there is a level of \u2018overdiagnosis\u2019 our system. We need to cut through the complexity to better understand the drivers of demand we are seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Conservative MP for Godalming and Ash also said: \u201cAs a society, we seem to have lost sight of the fundamental reality that child development is a messy and uneven process.<\/p>\n \u201cOur laudable desire to ensure young people are happy and well-supported is at times manifesting in excessive impulses to medicalise and diagnose the routine, in a manner that can undercut grit and resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 2015, Send spending has increased by \u00a34.5 billion, with requests for support rising annually.<\/p>\n In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025, up 10.8% on the same point last year.<\/p>\n The Policy Exchange report recommends that EHCPs be limited to students in special schools and that mental health support be targeted at those \u201cthat most need it, rather than blanket offers\u201d.<\/p>\n The report also argues the length of time a person must have a condition to be eligible for Personal Independence Payment should be doubled from nine to 18 months, in addition to the Children and Families Act 2014 and 2015 Send Code of Practice being replaced with a new statutory regime.<\/p>\n