Humza Yousaf has been accused of negligence after it was revealed a key pledge to recruit an additional 1,000 mental health specialists has been delayed.

Ministers confirmed to Scottish Labour that the 2021/22 Programme for Government (PfG) commitment has “not yet commenced” due to “difficult decisions” set out in November’s emergency budget review.

The key promise said every GP practice would have access to a mental health and wellbeing service by 2026.

Mental health minister Maree Todd confirmed the pause in a written parliamentary response to Labour last week.

However, she stressed the Scottish Government was committed to strengthening mental health provision in primary care settings.

Labour mental health spokesman Paul Sweeney said the pause showed how seriously the Scottish Government is taking the “mental health crisis”.

It comes as previous freedom of information data showed mental health calls to NHS 24 increased by almost 600% between 2019 and 2022 while Public Health Scotland figures showed the number of children seen by the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) within the 18-week target is 70%, below the 90% target.

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