Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Interim People Plan, what baseline his Department will use for assessing progress against the target of recruiting nearly 6,500 more staff to work in children and young people’s mental health services.

The Interim NHS People Plan acknowledges that the estimated number and mix of new posts needed will need to be refined to reflect the changes in the way in which services are delivered, for example, through sustainability and transformation plans and integrated care services which are currently being developed.

NHS England aims to publish a full five-year Plan alongside a detailed implementation plan for the NHS Long Term Plan. This will follow the outcome of the next Spending Review.