Oral Answers to Questions

Gideon Amos Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

8. What steps his Department is taking to improve access to mental health services.

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

20. What steps his Department is taking to improve access to mental health services.

[The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)]

As Lord Darzi’s independent investigation found, around 1 million people are waiting to access mental health services in England. This Government will fix our broken mental health services by recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers, providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school and rolling out young futures hubs in every community.

[Stephen Kinnock]

In addition to the measures that I just set out, in the Budget the Chancellor made funding available to expand talking therapies to 380,000 extra patients. We have a £26 million capital investment scheme for mental health crisis centres and, as always with this Government, investment goes with reform. We are finally reforming the Mental Health Act—that was first talked about when Theresa May was in 10 Downing Street. This Government are rolling up their sleeves and getting on with the job.

[Gideon Amos]

Taunton and Wellington is a trailblazer in taking mental health from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention. The trust is the first in the country to merge mental health with the hospital trust. Will the Minister meet the trust and me to understand how successful that programme is, and to discuss the much needed maternity and paediatric unit at Musgrove Park hospital?

[Stephen Kinnock]

It sounds like there is some interesting, dynamic and innovative work going on in the areas that the hon. Gentleman mentioned. I would be happy to meet him to discuss it further.