Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of inequalities in access to mental health treatment, and what steps he is taking to address them.

The Government recognises that mental health inequalities persist, with some groups, including disabled people, racialised communities, and those living in more deprived areas, reporting poorer experiences of care and facing greater barriers to access.

The Government is taking action to address these challenges, through improving access, expanding the workforce, and strengthening community-based support. We know there are significant disparities in rates of detention and the use of community treatment orders between different ethnic groups. It is a primary aim of the reform of the Mental Health Act to reduce this racial inequality. The Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework, now a contractual requirement for all providers of National Health Service commissioned mental health care, to improve engagement with diverse communities and strengthen accountability for reducing inequalities.

The Government commissioned an independent prevalence review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism, which in its next phase will examine inequalities in prevalence, diagnosis, support, and outcomes in more detail, including variation by age, sex, ethnicity, and deprivation.

To respond to the emerging findings from the prevalence review, we are developing a new mental health strategy for England, to be published later this year. The strategy will place tackling inequalities at its core, by improving access, prioritising prevention and early intervention, and ensuring services are more responsive to the needs of underserved groups and communities.

Furthermore, the NHS is developing a Modern Service Framework for severe mental illness which will define expectations for high-quality, equitable care.