Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve access to early mental health care for children and young people who have not yet had a medical diagnosis; and what progress he has made on the provision of early support hubs in the North East.

We are making good progress on expanding access to mental health care for children and young people year on year. 689,621 children and young people In England aged under 18 years old were supported through National Health Service funded mental health services with at least one contact in the year up to July 2022 compared to 618,537 in the year up to July 2021.

We are continuing the roll-out of mental health support teams, offering early support to children experiencing mild to moderate mental health concerns in schools and colleges across England. These teams also support the school in adopting a Whole School/College Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing and support the school to liaise with external specialists to help children get the right support to stay in education. There are currently 26 mental health support teams planned or operating within the North East and North Cumbria integrated care system area.

The Government is working with the sector to understand the role of early support hubs in supporting children and young people. There are currently around 60 locally designed and funded hubs in England, which often provide several different services, for example, early intervention and prevention services, sexual health clinics or careers advice. Integrated care boards and local authorities work with local partners to understand local needs and commission services on that basis.