Responding to the latest mental health performance figures published by NHS Digital, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin, said:

"More people than ever before are in contact with mental health services, reflecting the hard work of trusts and their staff to recover care backlogs and to meet rising demand. Referrals, including for children and young people, are the highest since records began.

"Staff and services continue to do everything they can to meet soaring demand for mental health treatment. But they are under severe strain, with resources out of step with growing and more complex demands – as highlighted by our latest survey.

"Trust leaders are very concerned about how long some people are having to wait for the care they need.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on people's mental health, particularly among children and young people, and the effects are expected to last longer than in some other areas of health care. This needs to be taken into account in decisions about the level of support and priority given to mental health services nationally and locally."