Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned reductions in share of NHS spending going to mental health services for three consecutive years on rural communities in Yeovil constituency.

As set out in a Written Ministerial Statement published on 12 March, National Health Service mental health expenditure is forecast to reach £16.1 billion in 2026/27, representing a real‑terms increase of £140 million compared with 2025/26. The proportion of overall NHS spending allocated to mental health in 2026/27 is forecast to be 8.4%, just 0.28% lower than in 2025/26. This reflects significant additional investment across the wider NHS, including in technology and digital transformation, strengthening general practice, and establishing neighbourhood health centres.

The headline share‑of‑spend metric also does not capture the full range of mental health investment. This includes £473 million of capital funding over the next four years to support the roll‑out of capital projects such as Community‑Based Mental Health Centres and Mental Health Emergency Departments. Further detail on integrated care board (ICB) allocations is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2026-27-to-2027-28/

In addition, the Government continues to require all ICBs to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard over the next three years, which sets a minimum rate of growth in local mental health spending. As a result, NHS Somerset will continue to increase investment in mental health services across Somerset.

The 10-Year Health Plan set out an ambitious reform agenda to transform the NHS and make it fit for the future. In line with this, we will go further to ensure that NHS mental health services deliver the care that people deserve. We know that there is much more to do to improve outcomes, tackle unacceptable waiting times for care and fully meet the needs of the population in a tailored, personalised and timely way.

NHS Somerset recognises the additional challenges associated with delivering services in rural areas. Through its transformed community mental health offer, Open Mental Health, a partnership between the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise partners, access to high‑quality mental health support has been expanded for people in rural communities, including through face‑to‑face provision, digital services, and telephone‑based support.