Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to community-based mental health support for low-income families with children.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care and support they need, and we know that waiting times for mental health services are far too long. We are determined to change that.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit 8,500 additional staff across children and adult mental health services, introduce a specialist mental health professional in every school, and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect that the number of people with autism detained in mental health hospitals will have reduced by 50 per cent by March 2024.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
We have made significant progress towards reducing the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in inpatient mental health settings.
For people who have a learning disability and who do not have an autism diagnosis, the data shows that has been a 57% reduction in the number of people in hospital since March 2015. For people who have both a learning disability and autism diagnosis, there has been a 33% reduction in the number of people in hospital since March 2015.
However, the number of people with an autism diagnosis, who do not have a learning disability, in hospital inpatient settings has increased significantly over the same period. As such, we know there is more to do. This is why we are investing an additional £121 million in 2023/24 to improve community support as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, including funding for Children and Young People’s keyworkers. In addition to this, all Integrated Care Boards should have an executive lead on learning disability and autism to increase local oversight and expertise in commissioning, and NHS England has published updated policy and guidance on Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews and Dynamic Support Registers to help ensure people get the right support to stay well in their communities.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce mandatory targets for the reduction of the number of autistic people being held in mental health hospitals.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
There are currently no plans to introduce mandatory targets for the reduction of the number of autistic people who are detained in mental health hospitals. Where admission to hospital is needed, it must be therapeutic, least restrictive and for the shortest time possible.
The NHS Long Term Plan is committed to achieving a 50% net reduction in the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by end of March 2024. This objective is inclusive of autistic inpatients who are not diagnosed with a learning disability.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Systems will work with schools to ensure that support is available for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Integrated care systems are designed to join-up the commissioning of health, social care services and other system partners to meet the population health needs. These needs are assessed in the data-driven joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs), prepared by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government guidance on the preparation of JSNAs states that they should include the needs of children with disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within these assessments.
Integrated care partnerships (ICPs) must set out how local authorities and integrated care board (ICBs) can meet these assessed needs in integrated care strategies. Statutory guidance states that these strategies should consider the health and wellbeing outcomes of babies, children, young people and families and they should include a statement on how the arrangement of health and social care services can be closely arranged with health-related services such as education providers.
Furthermore, to ensure SEND duties receive sufficient focus in the ICB, NHS England statutory guidance will contain provision for the delegation of responsibility for these duties to ICB executive leads.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Boards are ensuring the provision of (1) support, and (2) treatment, for disabled children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Integrated care systems are designed to join-up the commissioning of health, social care services and other system partners to meet the population health needs. These needs are assessed in the data-driven joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs), prepared by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government guidance on the preparation of JSNAs states that they should include the needs of children with disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within these assessments.
Integrated care partnerships (ICPs) must set out how local authorities and integrated care board (ICBs) can meet these assessed needs in integrated care strategies. Statutory guidance states that these strategies should consider the health and wellbeing outcomes of babies, children, young people and families and they should include a statement on how the arrangement of health and social care services can be closely arranged with health-related services such as education providers.
Furthermore, to ensure SEND duties receive sufficient focus in the ICB, NHS England statutory guidance will contain provision for the delegation of responsibility for these duties to ICB executive leads.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Systems will ensure joined up provision between health, social care, and education for disabled children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Integrated care systems are designed to join-up the commissioning of health, social care services and other system partners to meet the population health needs. These needs are assessed in the data-driven joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs), prepared by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government guidance on the preparation of JSNAs states that they should include the needs of children with disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within these assessments.
Integrated care partnerships (ICPs) must set out how local authorities and integrated care board (ICBs) can meet these assessed needs in integrated care strategies. Statutory guidance states that these strategies should consider the health and wellbeing outcomes of babies, children, young people and families and they should include a statement on how the arrangement of health and social care services can be closely arranged with health-related services such as education providers.
Furthermore, to ensure SEND duties receive sufficient focus in the ICB, NHS England statutory guidance will contain provision for the delegation of responsibility for these duties to ICB executive leads.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Boards collect sufficient data to support the commissioning of services for disabled children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Integrated care systems are designed to join-up the commissioning of health, social care services and other system partners to meet the population health needs. These needs are assessed in the data-driven joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs), prepared by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government guidance on the preparation of JSNAs states that they should include the needs of children with disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within these assessments. Integrated care boards and local authorities must have regard to these assessments when carrying out their functions, including commissioning.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how they will incorporate recommendations from the Independent review of Children's Social Care, published on 23 May 2022, into their Integrated Care Board Plans.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s approach to the recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care will be published early this year. Our 2019 manifesto committed to review the children’s social care system, to provide better outcomes for children. Last year, three reviews were published, including The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. We are committed to providing a rapid response to these reviews early this year so we can make the urgent progress that children need.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 25 March (HL Deb, col 1611), whether the review of autism services will examine the questions of autistic people without a learning disability being placed in mental health hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
In Building the right support we have a plan to build capacity and services in the community in order to reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability, and for autistic people and so that they can be appropriately supported to live in the community. A copy of the report is attached.
Supporting people on the autism spectrum or with learning disabilities is one of the four clinical priority areas in the NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January 2019. This commits to implementing the Building the right support plan in full, achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability or autism who are inpatients (compared to the figure in 2015) by the end of 2023/24. The National Health Service national planning guidance requires a 35% reduction in inpatients no later than the end of 2019/20. The Long Term Plan also commits to ensuring that every local economy has specialist community provision. Every local health system will be expected to use some of its growing community health services investment to have a seven-day specialist multidisciplinary service and crisis care to prevent people with learning disability and autistic people, from needing hospital inpatient care.
On 5 December 2018, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that we will be launching a comprehensive review of Think Autism, the national autism strategy. We want an autism strategy that works for all autistic people, and that is why, working very closely with the Department for Education, we will be extending the strategy to include children.
The review is expected to consider the support offered to autistic people who require inpatient care and the support required to enable autistic people to live well in their communities.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to advise and support families attempting to secure the discharge of autistic relatives from mental health hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
In Building the right support we have a plan to build capacity and services in the community in order to reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability, and for autistic people and so that they can be appropriately supported to live in the community. A copy of Building the right support is attached.
Supporting people on the autism spectrum or with learning disabilities is one of the four clinical priority areas in the NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January 2019. This commits to implementing the Building the right support plan in full, achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability or autism who are inpatients, compared to the figure in 2015, by the end of 2023/24. The National Health Service national planning guidance requires a 35% reduction in inpatients as quickly as possible and no later than the end of 2019/20. The Long Term Plan also commits to ensuring that every local economy has specialist community provision. Every local health system will be expected to use some of its growing community health services investment to have a seven-day specialist multidisciplinary service and crisis care to prevent people with learning disability and autistic people, from needing hospital inpatient care.
One of the principles of the service model of Building the right support is that people with a learning disability and autistic people should be supported to live in the community with support from and for their families or carers as well as paid support and care staff – with training made available for families or carers, support and respite for families/carers.
Care and Treatment Reviews (CTRS): Policy and Guidance sets how the family should be involved through the process of review to ensure that the care and treatment and differing support needs of the person and their families are met. A copy of Care and Treatment Reviews (CTRS): Policy and Guidance is attached.
On 5 December 2018, the Department for Health and Social Care announced that we will be launching a comprehensive review of Think Autism, the national autism strategy. We want an autism strategy that works for all autistic people, and that is why, working very closely with the Department for Education, we will be extending the strategy to include children.