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 help ensure that the CQC, NHS, local authorities, care providers and other relevant organisations are co-operating effectively to strengthen the discharge of their collective oversight and duty-of-care responsibilities to minimise the risks of harm to people in (a) mental health, (b) learning disability and (c) other care settings.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Mental Health Safety Improvement programme focuses on improving patient safety for those who use inpatient mental health and learning disability services. This work brings together individuals and organisations concerned with safer care and improved outcomes in mental health.

We are consulting on new duties to ensure the adequate supply of community services, placing Care, Education and Treatment Reviews on a statutory footing and putting in place a single point of Ministerial oversight. In any setting, local authorities must safeguard people with care and support needs who are at risk, in cooperation with the Care Quality Commission, care providers and other relevant organisations. These duties have remained through the pandemic and we have supported the sector with guidance, training and increased funding for local authorities.