Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anna Turley and Jackie Doyle-Price

Tuesday 24th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I would be more than happy to engage with the hon. Gentleman and the all-party group on this issue, because it is important we do as much as we can to learn and to get as much evidence as possible in this area.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

21. If he will ensure that funding for services commissioned by South Tees clinical commissioning group will not be reduced as a result of that group being placed in special measures.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anna Turley and Jackie Doyle-Price

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

17. What assessment he has made of the potential merits of flour fortified with folic acid for children and pregnant women.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Jackie Doyle-Price)]

The Government are looking at existing pre and post-conception health advice, including the use of folic acid supplements, which are recommended to help reduce the risks of neural tube defects in unborn children. We are carefully considering the recommendations in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition report on folic acid, and the Government will set out their position in due course.

[Anna Turley]

I thank the Minister for that answer, but the UK female diet leaves blood folate levels below World Health Organisation targets, and it was recommended back in 1991 that folic acid should be put into supplements and that flour should be fortified. There are 80 countries around the world where that is happening, and it is reducing cases of spina bifida and other serious illnesses by up to 50%. Will the Minister work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to look once again at the opportunities for fortifying flour with folic acid?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I can confirm that we will continue to look at that. The hon. Lady is right that a large number of countries fortify flour with folic acid, but the UK and other EU countries do not. We have advice that if the intake of folic acid exceeds given levels, that can also bring health problems, but we will continue to look at it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anna Turley and Jackie Doyle-Price

Tuesday 20th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

22. What estimate he has made of the number of young people who have not had access to child and adolescent mental health services after a referral in the last 12 months.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jackie Doyle-Price)]

We estimate that of the approximately 460,000 referrals made to children and young people’s NHS mental health services per year, 200,000 children receive treatment and many are appropriately signposted to other help. Treatment within the NHS is determined by clinical need and it is vital for all to remember that specialist services are not always appropriate for those referred. That said, we are committed to treating 70,000 more children and young people each year by 2020-21.

[Anna Turley]

Around one in 10 children and young people in Redcar and Cleveland has a mental health disorder—a proportion that is higher than for the rest of the north-east and higher than for England. Local services are becoming overwhelmed. Last year, Redcar charity The Link, which provides mental health support for children, experienced an increase in demand of 40%. It has a waiting list of over 140 children and planned waits of 11 weeks, but the charity is still having to make redundancies and staff have had their hours cut due to the funding crisis. Will the Minister commit to increasing and ring-fencing spending for child and adolescent mental health, and will she ensure that the role of third sector charities in delivery of such services is preserved?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

Having looked at the performance of the hon. Lady’s local trust, I can say that it is rising to the challenge extremely well, but that brings with it challenges. We are increasing the funding available for children and young people’s mental health services. We are relying on local clinical commissioning groups to purchase those services, but I can tell the hon. Lady that NHS England will be keeping this area under scrutiny, to ensure that we are delivering that help to the frontline.