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 adolescent mental health services in Berkshire.

We know children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including Berkshire. We are determined to change that as part of our shift to prevention and earlier intervention and in line with our Plan for Change.

The Department’s Spending Review settlement means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, representing a £53 billion cash uplift, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24.

In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil the Government’s commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 additional mental health staff by the end of the Parliament and expand mental health support teams in schools in England to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30.