Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of women with perinatal mental health problems had access to specialist counselling in the last year for which figures are available.

The information requested is not currently collected.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is working on the implementation of a new Mental Health Services Dataset which will seek to increase the amount of data available about mental health. The exact reporting which will result from this is still being determined, but perinatal mental health has been identified as a key policy area where more data is required in order to understand the current issues with the services being provided to women in the perinatal period.

In terms of reporting that will come out of the dataset, this is likely to include reports on:

- how many referrals to mental health services identify perinatal mental health issues as the primary reason for referral;

- how many women are identified as being on a perinatal pathway when they come into contact with mental health services;

- whether women who are admitted with mental health problems are admitted to an appropriate unit; and

- the kind of care which is provided to women in the perinatal period by community mental health services.

We expect that some initial data on perinatal mental health will be available between June and September next year. This will be basic information, such as the number of referrals to mental health services that identify perinatal mental health issues as the primary reason for referral, and we expect data volumes to be low in the first instance. We will use this initial information to refine how data on perinatal mental health is collected going forward.