Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that the forthcoming reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 will include school and community-based early-intervention provision for children and young people to include play and creative arts therapy and counselling in addition to the autism, closed ward and clinical measures listed in the white paper on Reforming the Mental Health Act, published on 13 January 2021.

The reforms to the Mental Health Act 1983 follow the recommendations made by the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act chaired by Sir Simon Wessely. However, school and community-based early intervention provision for children and young people fall outside the scope of these reforms. The provision of these services is a matter for local commissioners.

We are improving early intervention provision for children and young people through the introduction of mental health support teams in schools and colleges. By 2022/23, we are on schedule for mental health support teams to support 25% of the country, increasing to 399 teams covering an estimated three million children and young people or approximately 35% of pupils by 2023/24.