Asked by: Catherine Atkinson (Labour - Derby North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Health and Social Care and (b) Justice on the potential impact of (i) court backlogs, (ii) waiting lists for NHS services and (iii) levels of access to therapeutic support on levels of demand for local non-statutory victim support services.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is unacceptable that victims requiring support are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for NHS mental health services are far too long. As part of the Government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future, the Department of Health and Social Care is focused on ensuring the NHS is providing the right mental health support to the right people at the right time
For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded.
However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve. That is why we have commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to conduct a review of efficiency that will propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce staffing shortages in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This year the Department is investing an extra £688 million in children and young people’s mental health services. This will allow us to hire more staff, deliver more talking therapies, and get waiting lists down through our Plan for Change.
Early interventions in mental health support for young people can have positive ramifications for the rest of their lives. We will deliver on our commitment to get every child who needs it access to mental health support within school, and over the course of this year we will roll that support out to nearly a million extra children. Under Government plans, all pupils will have access to mental health support in school by 2029/30.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services to help ease the pressure on busy services. We continue to work with NHS England to consider options to deliver this commitment, alongside publishing a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade.
In addition, targeted retention work has been undertaken through the NHS Retention Programme which works with trusts to help them understand why staff have left. This has focused on better support for line managers and improved support for new joiners.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who had been referred to (a) secondary mental health services and (b) NHS Talking Therapies who were referred with (i) autistic spectrum disorders, (ii) ADHD, (iii) dyslexia, (iv) dyspraxia, (v) PTSD, (vi) schizophrenia and (vii) anxiety disorders as the primary presenting condition or symptom for referral were waiting for a first contact on 31 January 2025, broken down by integrated care board.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on mental health conditions by referral is not available, and a diagnosis may not have been established at the time of referral.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who had been referred to (a) secondary mental health services and (b) NHS Talking Therapies who were referred with (i) autistic spectrum disorders, (ii) ADHD, (iii) dyslexia, (iv) dyspraxia, (v) PTSD, (vi) schizophrenia and (vii) anxiety disorders as the other presenting condition or symptom for referral were waiting for a first contact on 31 January 2025, broken down by integrated care board.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on mental health conditions by referral is not available, and a diagnosis may not have been established at the time of referral.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who had been referred to (a) secondary mental health services and (b) NHS Talking Therapies who were referred with (i) autistic spectrum disorders, (ii) ADHD, (iii) dyslexia, (iv) dyspraxia, (v) PTSD, (vi) schizophrenia and (vii) anxiety disorders as the other presenting condition or symptom for referral were waiting for a first contact on 31 January 2025, broken down by NHS region.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on mental health conditions by referral is not available, and a diagnosis may not have been established at the time of referral.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who had been referred to (a) secondary mental health services and (b) NHS Talking Therapies who were referred with (i) autistic spectrum disorders, (ii) ADHD, (iii) dyslexia, (iv) dyspraxia, (v) PTSD, (vi) schizophrenia and (vii) anxiety disorders as the primary presenting condition or symptom for referral were waiting for a first contact on 31 January 2025, by NHS Trust.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on mental health conditions by referral is not available, and a diagnosis may not have been established at the time of referral.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who had been referred to (a) secondary mental health services and (b) NHS Talking Therapies who were referred with (i) autistic spectrum disorders, (ii) ADHD, (iii) dyslexia, (iv) dyspraxia, (v) PTSD, (vi) schizophrenia and (vii) anxiety disorders as the other presenting condition or symptom for referral were waiting for a first contact on 31 January 2025, by NHS Trust.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on mental health conditions by referral is not available, and a diagnosis may not have been established at the time of referral.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who had been referred to (a) secondary mental health services and (b) NHS Talking Therapies who were referred with (i) autistic spectrum disorders, (ii) ADHD, (iii) dyslexia, (iv) dyspraxia, (v) PTSD, (vi) schizophrenia and (vii) anxiety disorders as the primary presenting condition or symptom for referral were waiting for a first contact on 31 January 2025, broken down by NHS region.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on mental health conditions by referral is not available, and a diagnosis may not have been established at the time of referral.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for access to mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. As part of this, we have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care; these are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity
We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication to help services target the longest waits.
Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 5 December 2024 on Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, HCWS285 and the Chapter on An NHs Fit for the Future, if he will publish plans to reduce waiting times for mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan, with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.
The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. We have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.
NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity.
We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting time metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication, to help services target the longest waits.