MP Maria Miller has welcomed new measures to transform the way schools are supported in Basingstoke.

Support will now be available for every secondary school in the town, with each school offered mental health first aid training to increase awareness around mental health and help to tackle the unacceptable stigma surrounding the issue.

To aid the initiative, new proposals will outline how mental health services for schools, universities and families can be improved, so everyone in the community is helped – at every stage of life.

Mrs Miller said: “For too long there hasn’t been enough focus on mental healthcare in this country, it has been hidden injustice and surrounded by unacceptable stigma, leaving many to suffer in silence.

“These new proposals will ensure children and young people in Basingstoke receive the care and the treatment they deserve. Mental healthcare will be improved in schools, workplaces and universities and those suffering from mental illness will be able to access the right care for their needs, whilst we tackle the injustices people with mental health problems face.”

There will be a review into the how mental health in the town can be improved, in schools and the workplace.

The news comes as national mental health charity Together for Mental Wellbeing released figures that show that every pound spent on peer support yields a social return worth £4.94.

In order to obtain the figures, the charity did a Social Return on Investment Study which covered three services in the country – including at Together’s Cliddesden Road Accommodation Service in Basingstoke.

It found that 92 per cent of the service users had improved confidence as a result of the peer support they received and 73 per cent felt more able to manage their mental health.

All three of the services that took part provide a range of support for people who experience mental distress, many of whom have multiple complex needs.

Liz Felton, chief executive of Together for Mental Wellbeing, said: “We know from what people tell us that peer support is immensely valuable and can help people take huge strides forward in their recovery.

“To have this confirmed in monetary terms by this study is fantastic.”