Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of results of the Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial, published in June 2024, by the National Institute for Health Research and King College London.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, was a large school-based study of a cognitive behavioural therapy-based intervention led by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, using the DISCOVER intervention.
The study found that the DISCOVER intervention was modestly clinically effective for reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms among 16 to 18 year olds. The study’s findings highlight that, given the importance of addressing mental health needs early in this adolescent population, additional research is warranted to explore this intervention.
There are currently no national plans to scale up and roll out the DISCOVER workshop programme.
We recognise the importance of early intervention. Nearly 500 National Health Service funded mental health support teams were operational in approximately 8,500, or 34% of, schools and colleges across England by the end of March 2024, covering 4.2 million, or 44% of, pupils or learners. These teams work with young people and parents to manage mild to moderate mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing.
Building on this, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school so that mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, can be identified early on and prevented from developing into more serious conditions in later life. We will also roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to (a) scale up and (b) roll out the DISCOVER workshop programme led by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, was a large school-based study of a cognitive behavioural therapy-based intervention led by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, using the DISCOVER intervention.
The study found that the DISCOVER intervention was modestly clinically effective for reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms among 16 to 18 year olds. The study’s findings highlight that, given the importance of addressing mental health needs early in this adolescent population, additional research is warranted to explore this intervention.
There are currently no national plans to scale up and roll out the DISCOVER workshop programme.
We recognise the importance of early intervention. Nearly 500 National Health Service funded mental health support teams were operational in approximately 8,500, or 34% of, schools and colleges across England by the end of March 2024, covering 4.2 million, or 44% of, pupils or learners. These teams work with young people and parents to manage mild to moderate mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing.
Building on this, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school so that mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, can be identified early on and prevented from developing into more serious conditions in later life. We will also roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he plans to provide for child and adolescent mental health services in the next financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Priorities and spending for the next financial year will be set out in the NHS Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26, which is due to be published shortly. It will then be for integrated care boards, in line with the national guidance, to make their own decisions on allocations to services in their areas, including child and adolescent mental health services.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission a survey of the mental health of children and young people in 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Although there are no plans at present to commission further follow up waves to the 2017 Mental Health of Children and Young People in England survey, the Department recognises its importance. We will publish any such plans in due course.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths associated with online suicide forums in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of UK deaths associated with suicide forums in 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish his Department's final delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The final myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), delivery plan is a priority for the Department, and we aim to publish it in March 2025. We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by the consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with ME/CFS stakeholders, with three broad themes of attitudes and education, research, and living with ME/CFS.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the respiratory syncytial virus vaccination programme does not include people who are 80 and over.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for York Central on 14 October 2024 to Question 7797.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a time series of the capital grants allocated to General Practices for refurbishment and replacement by NHS England under the Primary Care capital grants policy, since 2015.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. We have commissioned NHS England for this information and will provide an update once we receive the reply.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of recorded cases of cervical cancer in patients over the age of 65 in the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service publishes cancer registration statistics annually, as Accredited Official Statistics. The information requested is therefore available at the following link:
https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/incidence_and_mortality
The interactive dashboard provides the most recent data available to 2020 which represents completed disease registration. The data is broken down by age and types of cervical cancer.