Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce variations in mental health spending and services between clinical commissioning groups.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning non-specialised mental health services to meet the needs of their local communities. NHS England has made the requirement of CCGs through the planning guidance document, Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance 2016/17 to 2020/21 (December 2015), that they should increase their spending on mental health each year at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocation.