Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of levels of regional variation in access to inpatient mental health beds; and what action is being taken to ensure that patients are not required to travel excessive distances to receive appropriate care.

We are developing a new mental health strategy for England, to be published later this year. The strategy will aim to transform mental health care into a system that responds earlier, reduces waiting times for support, intervenes earlier, and supports people to stay active and participate in education, work, family and community life.

The Government is making £473 million of capital funding available nationally to improve mental health, learning disability, and autism services. Of this, £130 million is allocated for eliminating inappropriate out of area placements alongside other priorities. The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework set out that in 2026/7 all integrated care boards (ICB) and providers of mental health care must reduce inappropriate out-of-area placements and locked rehabilitation inpatient services. From 2027/28 onwards, ICBs should only commission mental health inpatient services for adults and older adults that align with the NHS Commissioning Framework.