Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to ensure that young people diagnosed with eating disorders requiring in-patient treatment can be admitted to facilities close to home.

In the Autumn Statement 2014 increased funding of £150 million over the next five years was announced to improve services for children and young people with mental health problems in England. Particular emphasis was placed on improving services for people with eating disorders. A prime focus of the work on eating disorders is about the improved provision of out of hospital care so patients are only admitted to a bed when clinically required.

NHS England has continued to commission additional specialised mental health beds to provide further capacity in areas where it is required. This includes 56 new Tier 4 beds, raising the total to 1,442, the highest this has been.

In addition, NHS England is undertaking a pre-procurement review of Tier 4 services to ensure that the provision of mental health beds across the country supports improved access and care close to home where possible.