Asked by: Baroness Tyler of Enfield (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential of early support hubs to improve young people’s access to mental health support; and what steps they are taking to ensure that mental health support is embedded as part of the core offer of Young Futures Hubs.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2024/25, 24 early support hubs received top-up funding of £8 million to expand their early intervention and prevention support for children and young people's mental health and to take part in an ongoing evaluation of these services.
The evaluation of the early support hubs project will make a significant contribution to the design and implementation of young futures hubs, ensuring that services continue to evolve to meet the needs of young people.
The Government’s first 50 young futures hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention. We will work to ensure there is no wrong door for young people who need support with their mental health.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the end of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on (a) Christ Church in Woking and (b) other community services run by Churches.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church of England continues to await proposals from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport for the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and has not seen the results of the Department’s recent evaluation. These proposals will have an important bearing on the repair work that can be undertaken and the Department is aware of our concerns in this respect. With the existing scheme scheduled to end in March 2026, assurance for the future is now urgent.
Were the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to come to an end, it would mean that every project to repair a listed parish church or cathedral would need to find an additional 20% to cover the cost of VAT, requiring more charitable fundraising, donations, and grants to cover the additional costs needed.
In their ‘House for Good’ report the National Churches Trust (using Treasury Green Book calculations) estimated that £1 invested in a church generates £16 in value for the local community. The impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is significant in enabling substantial community investment, especially in areas with lower economic activity.
In the Woking constituency Christ Church Woking and St Mary of Bethany are listed churches that require significant projects to repair and restore their buildings. Both churches offer support to their local community through addressing loneliness, improving mental health, and providing spaces for young people and intergenerational work. Without the finances to undertake the restoration of these two buildings, the community projects run by these two churches will be at risk, as will be the contribution they make to the local community.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of waiting times for and availability of trauma-informed therapeutic support for child victims of peer-on-peer or child-on-child sexual abuse; and whether she intends to introduce access targets for such support.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that timely support is critical for child victims of sexual abuse, and that demand for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) has risen significantly. The 10-Year Health Plan set out an ambitious reform agenda to transform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. In line with this, we will go further to ensure that NHS mental health services deliver the care that people deserve, including child victims of sexual abuse.
We are committed to reducing waiting times for specialist CAMHS support, as set out in our Medium-Term Planning Framework. We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma. By bringing in vital services to schools, we can intervene early, promote wellbeing, and support recovery.
Our action so far has resulted in more young people being supported to access NHS mental health services. In the first 12 months of the Government, nearly 40,000 more children and young people received support compared to the previous 12 months.
There are currently no plans to introduce such an access target. The Darzi Review highlighted that there are too many NHS targets, so we have reduced the number of national priorities for 2025/26, focusing on what matters most to patients.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to WPQ 89628 answered on 20 November 2025, whether his Department plans to set targets regarding the improvement of community care for young people with eating disorders.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Eating disorders have a devastating impact on young people’s lives and Lord Darzi’s investigation found that people accessing National Health Service mental health services are waiting too long, receive variable quality of care, and suffer from entrenched inequalities. This Government has already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS mental health services but there is much more to do.
Although there are currently no plans to set targets regarding the improvement of community care for young people with eating disorders, more young people are being supported to access NHS mental health services. Between July and September 2025, 3,010 young people with eating disorder issues entered treatment, which is an increase of 14% compared to the same period last year. This is helped by almost 7,000 extra mental health workers being recruited since July 2024, against our target of 8,500 by the end of this Parliament.
The 10-Year Health Plan aims to shift more care to the community and reform the health system, including eating disorder services, to adopt more neighbourhood models of working where cross-sector collaboration is the norm.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence his Department has received on the potential over-diagnosis of mental health conditions and neurodivergence.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The most recent evidence about the prevalence of mental health conditions and neurodiversity comes from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24, which provides data on the prevalence of both treated and untreated mental health disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions in the English adult population.
The survey found that common mental health conditions among adults, especially young adults, have become more widespread over time. There has also been a noticeable increase in the number of adults screening positive for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In contrast, the prevalence of autism in adults has remained steady over the years.
We are deeply concerned that many adults, young people, and children with mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving timely or appropriate support and treatment. That is why we have launched an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism.
The review will examine the similarities and differences between mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism, focusing on prevalence, prevention, treatment, and current challenges in clinical services. It will assess how diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment impact individual outcomes, including the risks and benefits of medicalisation, and will identify approaches to provide varied support models and pathways, both within and beyond the National Health Service, that promote prevention and early intervention alongside clinical care.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 entitled Mental Health Conditions, Autism and ADHD Prevalence and Support, published on 4 December 2025, HCWS1132, what assessment he has made of regional variation in diagnostic practice, referral thresholds and waiting times for autism and ADHD assessments; whether the Independent Review will examine the extent to which inconsistent clinical pathways drive disparities in outcomes; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that adults, young people and children in every Integrated Care Board area receive timely, consistent and clinically robust diagnostic assessment and ongoing support.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an assessment. We have commissioned an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism. The review will look to understand the similarities and difference between mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism. It will look at prevalence, early intervention and treatment, and the current challenges facing clinical services. This will include exploring the factors that have contributed to the increase in prevalence and inequalities in access and outcomes. It will also examine the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment improve outcomes for individuals. This will include exploring the evidence around clinical practice and the risks and benefits of medicalisation.
The review will appoint an Advisory Working Group which involves a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.
The chairs will provide a short report within six months setting out conclusions and recommendations for responding to the rising need, both within the Government and across the health system and wider public services.
As this is an independent review, it is therefore for the Chair and vice-chairs to explore and consider topics and themes relevant to the terms of reference. It would not be appropriate for the Department to comment or influence further on specific topics, findings, and recommendations. The Government will consider any recommendations and respond accordingly.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with cabinet colleagues to support young disabled people with complex needs into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is taking action to help young disabled people and young people with complex health needs move towards work. This is a diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them.
The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for young people with long-term health conditions and disabled young people.
We have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to overhaul support and give a generation of young people a brighter future. Over the next three years:
Through Pathways to Work we are building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. This will be the biggest investment in support for disabled people and those with health conditions in at least a generation. We anticipate that, once fully rolled out, the Pathways to Work Guarantee will offer a comprehensive range of support including: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support available to disabled people and people with health conditions, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people and people with health conditions might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships.
Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn will lead on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability. Reporting in Summer 2026.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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, particularly for young people and those in rural areas.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, including young people living in rural communities. For 2025/26, mental health spending is forecast to amount to £15.6 billion. This represents a significant uplift of £688 million in real terms spending on mental health compared to the previous financial year.
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, the Government is recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament.
Additionally, approximately six in ten pupils will have access to a mental health support team by March 2026, which equates to approximately six million pupils and further education learners. Rollout will be prioritised based on NHS identification of local need and reaching the most vulnerable children first. We are accelerating the rollout of mental health support teams to achieve full national coverage by 2029.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether organisations in the mental health sector will be asked to contribute evidence to the Department’s review into the over-diagnosis of mental health conditions and neurodivergence.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced on 4 December 2025, via a Written Ministerial Statement, the launch of an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.
The Government is deeply concerned that many adults, young people, and children with mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving timely or appropriate support and treatment. Therefore, we are launching this review to understand the rise in the prevalence and demand for services, so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place.
The review will look to understand, with regard to mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, the similarities and differences regarding prevalence, early intervention and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment improve outcomes for individuals.
Professor Peter Fonagy will chair the review with the support of two vice chairs, Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird. The review will appoint an advisory working group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence. The Terms of Reference have been published on GOV.UK website and are available at the following link:
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to consult stakeholders in the mental health and neurodivergence sectors as part of its review into over-diagnosis.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced on 4 December 2025, via a Written Ministerial Statement, the launch of an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.
The Government is deeply concerned that many adults, young people, and children with mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving timely or appropriate support and treatment. Therefore, we are launching this review to understand the rise in the prevalence and demand for services, so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place.
The review will look to understand, with regard to mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, the similarities and differences regarding prevalence, early intervention and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment improve outcomes for individuals.
Professor Peter Fonagy will chair the review with the support of two vice chairs, Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird. The review will appoint an advisory working group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence. The Terms of Reference have been published on GOV.UK website and are available at the following link: