Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what restrictions are in place on visits to children and young people aged under 25 who are autistic and/or have learning disabilities and who are detained in mental health hospitals located in the (a) Bolton, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Leicester, (d) Northampton, (Greencore only), (e) North East of England, (f) North West of England, (g) West Midlands and (h) West Yorkshire areas subject to local lockdown regulations.

There is national guidance on arrangements for visitors on all hospital sites. The current guidance was published on the 5 June 2020 and a revised version is due for publication imminently.

The general guidance has been supplemented by a letter from the NHS England National Mental Health Director and the National Director of Learning Disability and Autism to providers of services for patients with a mental health and/or learning disability and/or autism, which was issued on the 22 September 2020. This letter reinforces the importance of enabling families to visit and stresses the need for risk assessments to be completed if by exception visiting needs to be restricted.