Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding investment in mental health support and screening within PCOS treatment plans.

While we have no plans at present to make such an assessment, we know that more needs to be done to support women with gynaecological conditions, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support and to provide the right support at the right time to the right people, including women with PCOS. We are transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies.

For 2025/26, mental health spending is forecast to amount to £15.6 billion. This represents a significant uplift of £688 million in real terms spending on mental health compared to the previous financial year.

In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers for children and adults by the end of this Parliament. 6,700 of these workers have been recruited since July, meaning we are more than halfway towards our target.