Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by Health Education England, Stepping forward to 2020-21: The mental health workforce plan for England’, published in July 2017, how many and what proportion of the new mental health workforce recruits will be trained as occupational therapists.

The breakdown of the overall increase in workforce that the ‘Stepping forward to 2020/21: The mental health workforce plan for England’ will deliver will be defined by local needs.

Health Education England is working with a number of partners, including National Health Service trusts, to assess demand and supply for clinical staff, including occupational therapists.