Member

I am a former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. The noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, talked about the issue of children’s mental health. If we get someone on the wrong path and they end up in a job that is not very good, possibly go into the criminal system and end up on benefits, fiscally speaking, that is absolutely disastrous. If we get them on the right path, they become great income earners paying lots of tax, which we in the Treasury love. There is a massive difference. The earlier we get at these things, the better. That is why the children’s part of it is so important. We measure adult well-being really effectively, but we do not do that for children.