Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the outcomes for people suffering with eating disorders following the reduction in the waiting time target from 18 weeks to four weeks in England.

The waiting time standard for children and young people to start treatment for a routine eating disorder within four weeks is not currently applicable for adults.

The Government is aware of the importance of early intervention when treating people with an eating disorder and we recognise that the earlier treatment is provided, the greater the chance of recovery.

The Government set up the first ever waiting time standards to improve access to eating disorder services for children and young people, supported by £30 million a year to develop 70 new or extended community eating disorder services across the country. These have improved access to effective eating disorder treatment in the community, with the number of children and young people accessing treatment increasing from 5,243 in 2016/17 to 6,867 in 2017/18.