CITY of York Council spends four per cent of its public health budget on mental health, it has been revealed.

The figure is higher than the local authority average spend - which is less than 1.5 per per cent - but it is still very low, experts have said.

Research by the mental health charity Mind has found English local authorities are spending an average of 1.36 per cent of their public health budget on mental health, with some councils spending nothing. Alyson Scott, chief executive officer of York Mind, said the 4.1 per cent spend in York was "still incredibly low".

"It’s encouraging it’s better than the national average but that is so low it’s almost embarrassing. I would imagine there are some very difficult decisions being made about how the budget is being split.

"If we can intervene early [with a mental health issue] you are more likely to avoid people going into crisis or going into hospital. 4.1 per cent of a budget which may be even smaller than it used to be is not very much.”

The research by the charity found local authorities nationally have allocated less than £40m to mental health in 2014-15, compared to £108m on obesity, £160m on smoking and £671m on sexual health.

This comes despite mental health problems costing the country an estimated £100 billion annually through lost working days, benefits, lost tax revenue and the cost of treatment, and account for 23 per cent of the total burden of disease in the UK, the charity said.

The charity has appealed to the next Government to introduce a national strategy for prevention to ensure local authorities and public health teams use their budgets to prevent mental health problems developing and reduce the numbers of people becoming unwell.

Mental health campaigner Andrew Collingwood said the low spend should be considered in light of proposals to close 29 Castlegate, a centre which provides counselling for 16 to 25-year-olds. It is proposed a reduced service for 16 to 19-year-olds is run from the council’s West Offices.

He said: “I’ve not used Castlegate, but my view is that with just over four per cent being spent on mental health, funds could easily be diverted to protect this key service. Even if some of the service is moved it is a very intimidating environment for a young person to use.

"Castlegate has been running for years as a safe and welcoming service for young people, who would be perhaps put off using other mental health services.

“Early intervention with mental health problems can help avoid more serious mental health conditions developing in adult life.”

A council spokesman said many policies and practices had an impact on mental health than the amount badged as public mental health including supported housing for vulnerable people and domestic violence reduction programmes. 

The council's entire budget for public health in 2014/15 is £7.2 million - 4.1 per cent of which is £299,000. 

Last year the council's entire budget for public health was £6,640,700. During that period £1,880,000 was spent on coping with substance misuse, £358,000 on smoking cessation and £1,903,000 on sexual health.