The cost of mental illness in England topped £77 billion last year, according to the first comprehensive estimate of the consequences of psychological problems

The study, published by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, found the full economic and social costs of the illness were larger than the £60 billion annual cost of crime, calculated on a similar basis by the Home Office.

A spokesman for the DoH told ePolitix.com: "Modernising mental health services is a priority for this government, and reforms are being made in all areas. We are investing to build capacity in new services and in the workforce, and continuing the radical reform of the way that those services are provided.

"An extra £75 million was invested in mental health services in 2001 and expenditure on mental health has been around 12 per cent of the health spend budget up to 1999/2000 figures for spend in 2000/01 will be available in August.

"The majority of people with mental health problems are not in contact with specialised services and many do not need to be. We have now also developed new ways of working to help reform mental health in primary care to in the early detection of mental health problems.

"We have also allocated £2.5 million for 12 new programmes of primary care mental health training, which will offer the public fast and convenient access to a wide range of consistently high quality services.

"The aim is to support people with mental health problems in their own community and improve the quality of their lives. To this end, the prime minister and deputy prime minister have asked the Social Exclusion Unit to decide how best to reduce social exclusion among adults with mental health problems.

"The Social Exclusion Unit's project, currently out to consultation, will seek to explore the means to improve rates of employment, social participation, and better access to services for people with mental health problems."

Forum Response: The Depression Alliance

Jim Thomson, director of Depression Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "Depression Alliance finds this Department of Health response appalling. That they still refuse to outline exactly how the £75 million destined for mental health was spent is bad enough.

"That they then go on to say 'The majority of people with mental health problems are not in contact with specialised services and many do not need to be' is frankly a shocking indictment of the government's general lack of respect for people affected by mental illness - and for those swimming against the increasingly fast-flowing tide of trying to provide effective treatment and support for them.

"Clinicians in primary care, effectively trained and educated to recognise, diagnose and treat depression - the 'common cold' of mental illness - would be an appropriate specialised service. What are Community Mental Health Teams, if not a specialised service?

"What is their evidence base for making this statement? Is it the soaring suicide and depression rates in this country? Is the government seriously saying in one breath that mental illness is one of its three major clinical priorities - while in the next breath implying that the majority of people with mental health problems do not require specialised support?

"Of course, the Department of Health is half right - the majority of people with mental health problems are not in contact with specialised services because the massive amount of stigma and misinformation around this subject stops around 75 per cent of people with depression receiving diagnosis or treatment (and we do have an evidence base for that).

"Finally, if the majority are not in contact with specialised services, and if many do not need to be, then why does the DoH say (and we quote...) 'Modernising mental health services is a priority for this government, and reforms are being made in all areas. We are investing to build capacity in new services and in the workforce, and continuing the radical reform of the way that those services are provided'.

"Either there is an urgent need for improved specialised services, or there isn't. We think that we - and the country as a whole - know the answer."

Forum Response: SANE

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of SANE, told ePolitix.com: "The true cost of mental illness has been hidden and the money pledged so dissipated that taxpayers should seek redress.

"The funds allocated by the government have yet to surface and until they do, the staggering cost of mental illness to society will only increase."Our callers say that despite the pledges, their lives have not changed and they still struggle to get access to beds and any professional help.

"The government has the capacity to address 'hidden costs' right now. Carers of the mentally ill must be recognised and medications that can dramatically improve the lives of people with mental illness must be made available quickly."