Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on Mental Health Services, how many referrals made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral are still waiting to receive a first treatment appointment in each (i) NHS Trust, (ii) NHS Integrated Care Board and (iii) NHS England region as of 24 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

A document containing two tables showing the number of referrals received for mental health services, excluding NHS Talking Therapies, by primary reason for referral, and the number of referrals received for NHS Talking Therapies services by presenting complaint, sorted by provider, integrated care board (ICB), and NHS England region, from 2021/22 to 2023/24, is attached.

We do not hold information on presenting conditions for people referred to NHS Talking Therapies who are waiting for a first contact. This is because the first contact will involve an initial assessment which includes, amongst other activity: discussing the patient’s view of the current main problem(s) and the impact on their life; exploring the patient's history of mental health problems; an exploration of any psychological processes that are likely to maintain the patient’s presenting problems; an exploration of any adverse circumstances that maintain a patient’s presenting symptoms; identification of the appropriate problem descriptor(s); and the completion of the NHS Talking Therapies Data Set. Until this initial assessment contact has taken place, any presenting conditions are not recorded. Unlike the Mental Health Services Data Set, within NHS Talking Therapies a 'reason for referral' accompanying the initial referral to the service is not separately recorded.

Caution should be used when interpreting this data. Comparisons at low levels and between providers may not be reflective of the performance of the provider due to high levels of suppressed values due to small numbers. Primary reason for referral is not a mandatory field and completeness levels can be relatively low and vary between providers. Furthermore, if a provider has a small number of people in a specific category, a seemingly large difference between two providers might not be statistically significant and could be due to random chance. Comparisons over time should also be interpreted with caution, as completeness in the dataset has improved over time, with the numbers of providers increasing year on year, which will impact comparisons.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on Mental Health Services, how many referrals were made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral by (i) NHS Trust, (ii) Integrated Care Board and (iii) NHS England region.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

A document containing two tables showing the number of referrals received for mental health services, excluding NHS Talking Therapies, by primary reason for referral, and the number of referrals received for NHS Talking Therapies services by presenting complaint, sorted by provider, integrated care board (ICB), and NHS England region, from 2021/22 to 2023/24, is attached.

We do not hold information on presenting conditions for people referred to NHS Talking Therapies who are waiting for a first contact. This is because the first contact will involve an initial assessment which includes, amongst other activity: discussing the patient’s view of the current main problem(s) and the impact on their life; exploring the patient's history of mental health problems; an exploration of any psychological processes that are likely to maintain the patient’s presenting problems; an exploration of any adverse circumstances that maintain a patient’s presenting symptoms; identification of the appropriate problem descriptor(s); and the completion of the NHS Talking Therapies Data Set. Until this initial assessment contact has taken place, any presenting conditions are not recorded. Unlike the Mental Health Services Data Set, within NHS Talking Therapies a 'reason for referral' accompanying the initial referral to the service is not separately recorded.

Caution should be used when interpreting this data. Comparisons at low levels and between providers may not be reflective of the performance of the provider due to high levels of suppressed values due to small numbers. Primary reason for referral is not a mandatory field and completeness levels can be relatively low and vary between providers. Furthermore, if a provider has a small number of people in a specific category, a seemingly large difference between two providers might not be statistically significant and could be due to random chance. Comparisons over time should also be interpreted with caution, as completeness in the dataset has improved over time, with the numbers of providers increasing year on year, which will impact comparisons.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on Mental Health Services, how many referrals made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral that (i) began and (ii) completed treatment received the first treatment appointment within (A) fewer than 18 weeks, (B) 18 and 24 weeks, (C) 24 weeks and 12 months, (D) 12 and 18 months, (E) 18 and 24 months and (F) more than 24 months from the date of referral in each NHS Trust as of 24 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The tables attached show, respectively, the number of referrals received by providers for mental health services, excluding NHS Talking Therapies, sorted by primary reason for referral and waiting time for entering treatment, and the number of referrals received by providers for NHS Talking Therapies services by presenting complaint, for financial years 2021/22 to 2023/24. For the first table, data for completed treatment cannot be provided as there is no definition for completed treatment.

During April 2025, 98.5% of referrals to NHS Talking Therapy services which completed treatment had entered treatment within 18 weeks of the referral starting. As a result, the numbers of individual referrals broken down by for the waiting times requested, presenting condition and provider would largely be suppressed and there may also be data errors which can incorrectly show extremely long waits. Therefore, these data have not been provided as they do not provide insight to the question and may potentially be misleading. Waiting times data for each provider can be found in the NHS monthly Talking Therapies statistics publication, which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-talking-therapies-monthly-statistics-including-employment-advisors

Caution should be used when interpreting this data. Comparisons at low levels and between providers may not be reflective of the performance of the provider due to high levels of suppressed values due to small numbers. Primary reason for referral is not a mandatory field and completeness levels can be relatively low and vary between providers. Furthermore, if a provider has a small number of people in a specific category, a seemingly large difference between two providers might not be statistically significant and could be due to random chance. Comparisons over time should also be interpreted with caution, as completeness in the dataset has improved over time, with the numbers of providers increasing year on year, which will impact comparisons.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on Mental Health Services, how many referrals made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23; and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral that (i) began and (ii) completed treatment received the first treatment appointment within (A) fewer than 18 weeks, (B) 18 and 24 weeks, (C) 24 weeks and 12 months, (D) 12 and 18 months, (E) 18 and 24 months and (F) more than 24 months from the date of referral in each NHS England region as of 24 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The tables attached show, respectively, the number of referrals received for mental health services, excluding NHS Talking Therapies, by NHS England region, primary reason for referral, and waiting time for entering treatment, and the number of referrals received for NHS Talking Therapies services, by NHS England region and presenting complaint, for the financial years 2021/22 to 2023/24. For the first table, data for completed treatment cannot be provided as there is no definition for completed treatment.

During April 2025, 98.5% of referrals to NHS Talking Therapy services which completed treatment had entered treatment within 18 weeks of the referral starting. As a result, the numbers of individual referrals broken down by for the waiting times requested, presenting condition, and NHS England region, would largely be suppressed and there may also be data errors which can incorrectly show extremely long waits. Therefore, these data have not been provided as they do not provide insight to the question and may potentially be misleading. Waiting times data for each region can be found in the NHS monthly Talking Therapies statistics publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-talking-therapies-monthly-statistics-including-employment-advisors

Caution should be used when interpreting this data. Comparisons at low levels and between providers may not be reflective of the performance of the provider due to high levels of suppressed values due to small numbers. Primary reason for referral is not a mandatory field and completeness levels can be relatively low and vary between providers. Furthermore, if a provider has a small number of people in a specific category, a seemingly large difference between two providers might not be statistically significant and could be due to random chance. Comparisons over time should also be interpreted with caution, as completeness in the dataset has improved over time, with the numbers of providers increasing year on year, which will impact comparisons.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on mental health waiting lists, how many referrals made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral that (i) began and (ii) completed treatment received the first treatment appointment within (A) fewer than 18 weeks, (B) 18 and 24 weeks, (C) 24 weeks and 12 months, (D) 12 and 18 months, (E) 18 and 24 months and (F) more than 24 months from the date of referral in each NHS Integrated Care Board as of 24 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The tables attached show, respectively, the number of referrals received for mental health services, excluding NHS Talking Therapies, sorted by integrated care board (ICB), primary reason for referral, and the waiting time for entering treatment, and the number of referrals received for NHS Talking Therapies services, sorted by ICB and by presenting complaint, for the financial years 2021/22 to 2023/24.

During April 2025, 98.5% of referrals to NHS Talking Therapy services which completed treatment had entered treatment within 18 weeks of the referral starting. As a result, the numbers of individual referrals broken down by for the waiting times requested, presenting condition, and integrated care board, would largely be suppressed and there may also be data errors which can incorrectly show extremely long waits. Therefore, these data have not been provided as they do not provide insight to the question and may potentially be misleading. Waiting times data for each ICB can be found in the NHS monthly Talking Therapies statistics publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-talking-therapies-monthly-statistics-including-employment-advisors

Caution should be used when interpreting this data. Comparisons at low levels and between providers may not be reflective of the performance of the provider due to high levels of suppressed values due to small numbers. Primary reason for referral is not a mandatory field and completeness levels can be relatively low and vary between providers. Furthermore, if a provider has a small number of people in a specific category, a seemingly large difference between two providers might not be statistically significant and could be due to random chance. Comparisons over time should also be interpreted with caution, as completeness in the dataset has improved over time, with the numbers of providers increasing year on year, which will impact comparisons.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on Mental Health Service, how many referrals made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral received a (i) suspected and (ii) confirmed diagnosis within (A) fewer than 18 weeks, (B) 18 and 24 weeks, (C) 24 weeks and 12 months, (D) 12 and 18 months, (E) 18 and 24 months and (F) more than 24 months from the date of referral in each NHS Integrated Care Board as of 24 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has confirmed the information requested is not held as data is either not available or would not provide a representative answer to the questions. NHS England collects information in the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) on people in contact with secondary mental health services with a diagnosis of a mental health disorder. The MHSDS is a large, complex dataset so to balance the burden on the National Health Service, some tables/fields are mandatory whereas others are not. The diagnoses tables are not mandatory so not all providers necessarily submit this information. The recording of diagnoses within MHSDS needs to be entered using clinical coding which some providers may be unable to do for various reasons. Additionally, it can take a while for a diagnosis to be confirmed for some patients. There are also other data quality issues around non-completion of the diagnosis information. We are working with providers and partner organisations to address such issues.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on Mental Health Service, how many referrals made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23; and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral received a (i) suspected and (ii) confirmed diagnosis within (A) fewer than 18 weeks, (B) 18 and 24 weeks, (C) 24 weeks and 12 months, (D) 12 and 18 months, (E) 18 and 24 months, and (F) more than 24 months from the date of referral in each NHS England Region as of 24 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has confirmed the information requested is not held as data is either not available or would not provide a representative answer to the questions. NHS England collects information in the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) on people in contact with secondary mental health services with a diagnosis of a mental health disorder. The MHSDS is a large, complex dataset so to balance the burden on the National Health Service, some tables/fields are mandatory whereas others are not. The diagnoses tables are not mandatory so not all providers necessarily submit this information. The recording of diagnoses within MHSDS needs to be entered using clinical coding which some providers may be unable to do for various reasons. Additionally, it can take a while for a diagnosis to be confirmed for some patients. There are also other data quality issues around non-completion of the diagnosis information. We are working with providers and partner organisations to address such issues.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60400 on Mental Health Services, how many referrals made to mental health services in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 by primary reason for referral received a (i) suspected and (ii) confirmed diagnosis within (A) fewer than 18 weeks, (B) 18 and 24 weeks, (C) 24 weeks and 12 months, (D) 12 and 18 months, (e) 18 and 24 months and (F) more than 24 months from the date of referral in each NHS Trust, as of 24 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has confirmed the information requested is not held as data is either not available or would not provide a representative answer to the questions. NHS England collects information in the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) on people in contact with secondary mental health services with a diagnosis of a mental health disorder. The MHSDS is a large, complex dataset so to balance the burden on the National Health Service, some tables/fields are mandatory whereas others are not. The diagnoses tables are not mandatory so not all providers necessarily submit this information. The recording of diagnoses within MHSDS needs to be entered using clinical coding which some providers may be unable to do for various reasons. Additionally, it can take a while for a diagnosis to be confirmed for some patients. There are also other data quality issues around non-completion of the diagnosis information. We are working with providers and partner organisations to address such issues.

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