Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of mental health support within universities.

This government is committed to ensuring students in higher education (HE) have access to effective mental health support. This is why my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, has recently appointed a new HE Student Support Champion to lead a reconvened HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. Full details of the new champion will be announced shortly.

The taskforce is instrumental in assessing and driving improvements in mental health support across the sector, including taking forward recommendations from the recent national review of HE student suicides.

The government also strongly supports the University Mental Health Charter Programme and Award, run by Student Minds. This programme provides a robust framework for universities to improve their mental health provision and is a valuable tool for driving sector-wide change.