Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to mental health services in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is responsible for providing health and care services to meet the needs of the people of Mid Cheshire constituency and Cheshire, taking into account local considerations.

Nationally, we recognise that many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure that mental health is given the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment which will also help ease pressure on hospitals. By cutting mental health waiting lists and intervening earlier with more timely mental health support, we can get this country back to good health.

We will also ensure every young person has access to a mental health professional at school, and set up Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.