Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that inpatient mental health services have sufficient staffing levels and the appropriate skill mix to provide safe and therapeutic care.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government is recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament. Over 8,000 of these workers have been recruited since July 2024, which will help to ease pressure on busy mental health services. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan later this year to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places to care for patients when they need it.