Can we measure the value of a human life in financial terms? It sounds unthinkable and heartless, doesn’t it?  For centuries, religions and philosophers have insisted that life is sacred and without monetary value. Indirectly, of course, public spending commitments do reflect the value placed on lives.

There’s no time like an election to start analysing costs, spending and value but with trust in politicians at an all-time low, informed voters may be looking elsewhere for their data.

BACP and Citizens UK have been taking a hard look at the soaring need for counselling and therapy in children and young people and have come up with some staggeringly compelling maths.

According to the report they’ve just published, universal access to counselling among young people in England would generate lifetime fiscal benefits to the government of £1.9 billion, against an annual cost of about £250 million.

20% of 8-16 year olds have a probable mental health condition according to NHS England. BACP and Citizens UK say their research shows that this group is:

• seven times more likely to miss more than 15 days of schooling in an academic year than their peers

• 16 times more likely to have tried to harm themselves in a four-week period

• 50% less likely to agree that they enjoy learning at school

• twice as likely to end up on welfare benefits than those without mental health issues.

Less than half of these young people can access children and young people’s mental health services (CYPMHS). Many more, who don’t meet thresholds, get no early help at all with just 48% of teachers reporting that their schools offer onsite counselling.

Universal access to counselling for young people in England, the report argues, could yield significant fiscal benefits in the form of increased tax revenues, reduced benefits spending and reduced pressure on government services including schools, the justice system and the NHS.

So yes we can put a price on the things that will improve the life chances of children and young people. We can also save public money by paying forward for those benefits. Surely though, the real downpayment is a moral one!

Read the full report here