NEW figures showing lower spending on mental health in Scotland than England reinforce the need for improved services targeted at children and teenagers, a group of charities has warned.

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition warned of a "ticking time bomb" if a range of conditions faced by young people were inadequately treated by the NHS.

The group, which represents five specialist organisations, was responding to figures revealed in The Herald which showed a smaller share of overall NHS resources were devoted to mental health services in Scotland than in England or Wales.

The Scottish Government study showed 8.6 per cent of NHS Scotland's budget went on mental health, compared with 11.9 per cent south of the Border.

In a letter to The Herald, heads of the five charities said the figures reinforced previous data showing

0.45 per cent of NHS Scotland expenditure was devoted to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) compared with 0.7 per cent in England.

They said mental health professionals were "overstretched" and added: "The long-term cost to society of failing to treat these conditions is well-established, with many of these young people become unemployed, becoming involved in criminality, or ending up with long-term mental health conditions which could have been prevented through early intervention.

"We of course welcome what the Scottish Government has done to date in providing additional funding for CAMHS, but more needs to be done, including greater collaboration with the independent and third sectors, or we are simply storing up a ticking time bomb for the future."

Also responding to the new figures, Dr Richard Simpson, Scottish Labour's public health spokesman and a former psychiatrist, said: "The SNP government in Edinburgh have consistently failed some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland by serially underfunding mental health services.

"If the performance for mental health services were replicated in A&E or waiting times for operations there would be a national outcry."

He said NHS Scotland had missed numerous for treating people with mental health problems.

Fewer than 80 per cent of young people began treatment within the government's 18 week target, according to the latest figures, and Labour claimed the number waiting more than 12 months had soared tenfold in a year.

The new Scottish Government figures, which provided a rare comparison with spending patterns in England and Wales, covered the period 2011/12.

The Scottish Government said a special five-year, £100million fund, announced since then showed mental

health services were an "absolute priority".

Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health Jamie Hepburn said:

"We have been investing heavily for a number of years, and waiting times have come down significantly, despite a rise in the number of people seeking help.

"Scotland was the first country in the UK to have a mental health waiting times target – a sign of how importantly we view this issue."