Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many children have been detained in adult mental health wards (1) in total, and (2) for over 48 hours, in the past year; and what estimate they have made of the cost of removing all children from those facilities.

NHS England has confirmed that across the services, there have been a total of 12 children, all aged between 16 and 18 years old, who have been detained in adult mental health wards in the 2024/25 financial year. All 12 patients were detained for over 48 hours.

Neither the Department nor NHS England have made an estimate of the cost of removing all children and young people from these facilities.