Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the increase over the last 10 years in the number of people with eating disorders.

In 2016, we set up the first waiting time standard for children and young people eating disorder services so that 95% of children with an eating disorder will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and within four weeks for routine cases. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, extra funding is going into children and young people's community eating disorder services every year, with £53 million per year from 2021/22. This extra funding will enhance the development of more than 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams covering the whole of the country.

For adults, we will invest an extra £1 billion in community mental health care for adults with severe mental illness, such as eating disorders, by 2023/24. In addition, we announced that in 2021/22 the NHS will receive an additional £500 million, which will support people with a variety of mental health conditions, including eating disorders. Of this, £79 million will be used to significantly expand children’s mental health services, including allowing 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and £58 million to bring forward the expansion of integrated primary and secondary care for adults with severe mental illness, including eating disorders.

NHS England has also announced additional early intervention services for young people aged 16 to 25 years old with eating disorders in 18 areas across the country, so young adults seeking support could be contacted within 48 hours and begin treatment within two weeks.