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Written Question
Mental Health Services
Thursday 16th July 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were being cared for in forensic support services in each year since 2013-14, broken down by a) high, b) medium and c) low secure services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The following table shows spending on forensic support services according to high, medium and low secure services between 2013/14 and 2023/24, the most recent year for which data is available:

Financial Year

High Secure (£m)

Medium Secure (£m)

Low Secure (£m)

2013/14

152.7

594.8

571.4

2014/15

220.9

503.9

587.8

2015/16

223.4

530.6

498.9

2016/17

218.9

552.5

515.2

2017/18

226.4

557.4

522.6

2018/19

218.9

578.9

524.0

2019/20

229.1

574.4

522.8

2020/21

N/A

N/A

N/A

2021/22

249.0

595.9

509.7

2022/23

256.7

657.9

625.4

2023/24

277.0

720.4

617.4

Source: NHS England, Regional Spend Analysis

Notes:

  1. 2020/21 figures were not collected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  1. There is other spending categorised as “forensic” which is not specifically related to high, medium and low secure services.

The following table shows the number of unique patients who were being cared for in forensic support services in each year since 2016/17, the earliest year for which data is available, broken down by high, medium and low secure services:

Financial Year

Low

Medium

High

2016/17

4348

4133

780

2017/18

4253

4015

785

2018/19

4152

4007

765

2019/20

4069

3915

751

2020/21

3832

3792

744

2021/22

3563

3465

771

2022/23

3406

3368

763

2023/24

3297

3304

725

2024/25

3175

3234

690

2025/26

2985

3312

693

Source: NHS England

Notes:

  1. The earliest reporting period available from the Specialised Mental Health Patient-Level Dataset is 2016/17. From 2021/22 onwards, the data has been sourced from the Mental Health Services Dataset.

  1. The figures represent unique patients within each service category and financial year. However, for unique patients, this is not a distinct count of all patients across secure services. A patient may therefore be counted more than once in the total if they moved between security levels during the same financial year.

  1. The same patient may also appear across multiple financial years.


Written Question
Mental Health Services
Thursday 16th July 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent on forensic support services in each year since 2013/14 by a) high, b) medium and c) low secure services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The following table shows spending on forensic support services according to high, medium and low secure services between 2013/14 and 2023/24, the most recent year for which data is available:

Financial Year

High Secure (£m)

Medium Secure (£m)

Low Secure (£m)

2013/14

152.7

594.8

571.4

2014/15

220.9

503.9

587.8

2015/16

223.4

530.6

498.9

2016/17

218.9

552.5

515.2

2017/18

226.4

557.4

522.6

2018/19

218.9

578.9

524.0

2019/20

229.1

574.4

522.8

2020/21

N/A

N/A

N/A

2021/22

249.0

595.9

509.7

2022/23

256.7

657.9

625.4

2023/24

277.0

720.4

617.4

Source: NHS England, Regional Spend Analysis

Notes:

  1. 2020/21 figures were not collected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  1. There is other spending categorised as “forensic” which is not specifically related to high, medium and low secure services.

The following table shows the number of unique patients who were being cared for in forensic support services in each year since 2016/17, the earliest year for which data is available, broken down by high, medium and low secure services:

Financial Year

Low

Medium

High

2016/17

4348

4133

780

2017/18

4253

4015

785

2018/19

4152

4007

765

2019/20

4069

3915

751

2020/21

3832

3792

744

2021/22

3563

3465

771

2022/23

3406

3368

763

2023/24

3297

3304

725

2024/25

3175

3234

690

2025/26

2985

3312

693

Source: NHS England

Notes:

  1. The earliest reporting period available from the Specialised Mental Health Patient-Level Dataset is 2016/17. From 2021/22 onwards, the data has been sourced from the Mental Health Services Dataset.

  1. The figures represent unique patients within each service category and financial year. However, for unique patients, this is not a distinct count of all patients across secure services. A patient may therefore be counted more than once in the total if they moved between security levels during the same financial year.

  1. The same patient may also appear across multiple financial years.


Written Question
Food Standards Agency
Monday 13th July 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to section 5 of the Government Efficiency Framework, if he will publish the most recent quarterly efficiency report provided by the Food Standards Agency.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) does not provide efficiency reporting to HM Treasury under the Government’s Efficiency Framework. This reflects an agreement between HM Treasury and the FSA, recognising the FSA’s size and the proportionate reporting requirements that apply to smaller departments. Consequently, there is no efficiency report available. The FSA continues to progress organisational change and transformation activity to improve efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring it is well placed to meet future demands and deliver its objectives.


Written Question
Depressive Illnesses
Wednesday 8th July 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in England have a formal clinical diagnosis of mixed anxiety and depressive disorder recorded in NHS primary care records.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department does not hold data on the number of people in England with a formal clinical diagnosis of mixed anxiety and depressive disorder recorded in National Health Service primary care records.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework publication shows the prevalence of depression more broadly, with the depression disease register capturing all patients with an unresolved diagnosis of depression since 1 April 2006. However, it does not break this down by the number of patients with a specific type of diagnosis. The Quality and Outcomes Framework publication is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/quality-and-outcomes-framework-achievement-prevalence-and-exceptions-data/2023-24/data-quality-annex

The most recent Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, for 2023/24, reported that one in five adults have a common mental health condition, which comprise of different types of depression and anxiety disorders.

The Department has commissioned an independent review into the prevalence, trends, and inequalities associated with mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism in children, young people, and adults. An interim report was published in March, with a final report expected in the summer. The interim report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-interim-report


Written Question
Mental Health Services
Thursday 2nd July 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 10 June to Question 303, how much was spent on forensic support services in each year since 2005.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested is not held prior to 2013/14. The following table shows the spend on high, medium and low secure services between 2013/14 and 2023/24, the period for which the most recent data is available:

Year

Spend (£m)

2013/14

1,361.1

2014/15

1,335.7

2015/16

1,347.6

2016/17

1,341.0

2017/18

1,370.8

2018/19

1,409.2

2019/20

1,506.7

2020/21

N/A

2021/22

1,554.1

2022/23

1,625.2

2023/24

1,668.7

Source: NHS England

Notes:

  1. There is no data for 2020/21 as this information was not collected during the reduced reporting requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  1. It should be noted that over a ten-year period, there may well have been developments in the reporting and coding of data which could impact on the comparability between years so this should be considered when reviewing the numbers.


Written Question
Dental Services
Thursday 18th June 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many units of dental activity were (a) commissioned and (b) delivered in each integrated care board in each month since April 2023.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The data on the number of units of dental activity that were commissioned and delivered in each integrated care board in each month since April 2023 is available at the following link:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/english-contractor-monthly-general-dental-activity

The data is published monthly, released at an individual dental contract level, and only relates to contracts that provide General NHS Dental Services.


Written Question
Dental Services
Thursday 18th June 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists were accepting new NHS patients who were adults not entitled to free dental care, in each month since June 2024.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Data is not held on the number of dental practices accepting new National Health Service adult patients that are not entitled to free dental care.


Written Question
Mental Health Services
Wednesday 10th June 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent on forensic support services in the most recent year for which data is available; and how many people were dealt with by such services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The spend on high, medium and low secure services for 2023/24, the latest year for which data is available, is £1,688,718,895. Information on how many people were dealt with by such services is not held centrally.


Written Question
Health Professions: Conduct
Wednesday 27th May 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of Practitioner Performance Advice cases involving (a) behaviour, (b) misconduct and (c) other (i) clinical and (ii) health concerns have involved practitioners who qualified (A) in the UK, (B) outside the UK in the EEA and (C) outside the EEA in each of the last two years.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

NHS Resolution has provided data relating to practitioners who are the subject of NHS Resolution’s Practitioner Performance Advice service (‘Advice’) cases. The number of cases in the tables below refers to the number of new cases opened in each of the financial years.

While the question relates to the last two years, NHS Resolution has also included data for 2023/24 to provide context and to align with a corresponding response issued under the Freedom of Information Act.

The following table shows the total number of cases relating to individual practitioners in each of the last three years along with a breakdown of the type of concern:

Concern type

Year

Total number of cases

Behaviour/ misconduct

Clinical

Health

2023/24

904

680 (75%)

266 (29%)

155 (17%)

2024/25

1,255

980 (78%)

347 (28%)

190 (15%)

2025/26

1,225

897 (73%)

360 (29%)

164 (13%)


By way of background, Advice does not distinguish or prioritise a ‘main’ concern about a practitioner. When a case is opened, Advice may record multiple concerns, which is why the counts of concern type amount to a higher figure than the total number of cases, and the percentage totals exceed 100%. Concern types may be updated over the duration of the case.

In addition, the following table shows the total number of cases relating to individual practitioners in the last three years, broken down by primary medical qualification location:

Place of qualification

Year

Total number of cases

United Kingdom

European Economic Area

Elsewhere

Unknown

2023/24

904

408 (45%)

85 (9%)

398 (44%)

13 (1%)

2024/25

1,255

543 (43%)

139 (11%)

564 (45%)

9 (1%)

2025/26

1,225

526 (43%)

131 (11%)

543 (44%)

25 (2%)


NHS Resolution’s recent Insight publication may be of interest, and is available at the following link:

https://resolution.nhs.uk/learning-resources/demographics-professions-and-concerns-analysis-of-practitioner-performance-advice-cases-including-a-focus-on-sexual-misconduct-concerns/

This publication sets out their annual analysis of the patterns of concerns reported to them by healthcare organisations, as well as the demographics of the practitioners who are the subject of our cases.

The insight presents the data in a different format for the purposes of publication. Please note that all professional groups, including doctors, dentists, and pharmacists, are included across all the jurisdictions in which we operate, namely England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man.


Written Question
Mentally Disordered Offenders: Homicide
Friday 22nd May 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, according to data supplied to the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, how many patients in recent (<12 months) contact with mental health services were convicted of a homicide offence in 2023 and 2024.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health is not able to provide separate figures for 2024.

In England, Wales, and Scotland, the estimated number of people who were convicted of a homicide offence and who had been in contact with mental health services in the previous 12 months was 54 in 2021, 56 in 2022, and 58 in 2023.

Figures for more recent years are subject to greater uncertainty, as delays to court proceedings during and after the COVID-19 pandemic mean that some convictions are likely to be recorded later.