Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for mental health treatment.

Too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need and we know that waits for mental health services are lengthy. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will recruit an extra 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services to cut waiting times and ensure people can access treatment and support earlier.

We will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school in England so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We are also rolling out Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support for children and young people.