Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the funding available for parents whose children are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 complies with the Equality Act 2010 provisions regarding disability discrimination.

Under the hospital travel costs scheme, parents are eligible to apply for help with travel costs to accompany their children being treated in distant locations. This is means tested. Parents and carers of children detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 may also, in some circumstances, seek additional assistance provided at the discretion of the clinical commissioning group as part of the child’s care package.