Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 30 January (HL14009), what assessment they have made of whether increased spending allocation to tacking mental health care results in a reduction in prevalence of mental health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that the nation’s mental health has deteriorated over the last decade. The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24 shows that the proportion of 16 to 64 year olds with a common mental health condition increased from 17.6% in 2007 and 18.9% in 2014, to 22.6% in 2023/24.
Total mental health spending for 2025/26 is expected to amount to £15.6 billion, which is a significant increase of £688 million compared to the previous financial year. However, demand has outstripped supply as a result of rising prevalence. That is why we have launched the independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. The review will look at prevalence, early intervention and treatment, and the current challenges facing clinical services.
The Government has already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve National Health Service mental health services. This includes NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide evidence-based interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. More than 670,000 people completed a course of treatment last year. We are expanding Talking Therapies services so that 915,000 people can complete a course of treatment by March 2029.
NHS Talking Therapies have a recovery target that at least 50% of people who complete treatment should move to recovery, which is generally met or close to being met. Information released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that completion of Talking Therapy treatment has a positive impact on pay and employment status. Further details are available on the ONS website.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what oversight exists for diagnostic standards in private mental health services, in particular online assessment platforms.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Clinicians delivering diagnoses are professionally regulated by bodies such as the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and the Health and Care Professions Council, whose standards apply equally to private practice.
For online assessment platforms specifically, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) operates an early value assessment (EVA) process that conditionally recognises some digital healthcare technologies while further evidence is generated. These evaluations draw on a combination of research evidence and expert review of relevance and potential impact. NICE EVAs have been published for several tools that provide mental health pre-assessment information gathering or deliver digitally enabled therapies. These can be found on the NICE website. NICE EVAs are specifically intended to support early adoption within National Health Service commissioned services, but private providers may choose to use the EVA findings as a benchmark for decisions.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 26 January (HL13748), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Every Mind Matters campaign to date; and what plans they have to make an assessment on completion of that campaign.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Historic Every Mind Matters (EMM) campaigns have been evaluated according to the process specified by the Government Communications Service’s Evaluation Cycle for all Government paid-for campaigns, following end of each campaign period, the last of which was in 2023.
Data in relation to the EMM campaign was referred to in evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on 21 February 2023. Text from page 11 of the transcript is as follows:
“The Every Mind Matters campaign includes a health and wellbeing plan – the Mind Plan - that can be personalised, downloaded and followed to enable people to take active steps to look after their wellbeing, and 4.6 million people have done that since October 2019. Every Mind Matters also offers a follow up email programme and two out of three of its users report that it has led to improvements in their health and wellbeing.”
To the current date, 5.4 million Mind Plans have been completed.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 29 January (HL14010), how much has been spent on the Every Mind Matters campaign to date; and what is the (1) projected, and (2) budgeted spend, over the period of that campaign's operations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As a point of clarification, the Every Mind Matters (EMM) website remains live on the National Health Service digital domain for anyone to access free of charge. Between 2019 and 2023, the EMM website and its digital tools were promoted via intermittent paid for marketing campaigns to encourage the use of the site to enable the public to take simple self-care actions to improve their mental health.
A total of £21.93 million was spent on these campaigns. Since 2024 no funding has been available to promote the site to the public. However, as noted in the response to HL14010, a campaign launched over the new year and is running until the end of March 2026 to encourage people to do the new NHS Healthy Choices Quiz which asks questions about six health topics, including mental health and sleep. People whose answers to the Quiz indicate mental health difficulties will be signposted to appropriate help, including Every Mind Matters, NHS Talking Therapies, or other NHS mental health services.
Any future budget for the Every Mind Matters campaigns is yet to be agreed by the Cabinet Office, which determines the health issues which will be supported by paid marketing campaigns and how much should be spent on them.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 29 January (HL14010), what assessment they have made of the impact of the NHS Healthy Choices Quiz on improving the mental health of its users.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Healthy Choices Quiz was designed and built at every stage with user research and engagement with policy experts to ensure it is both accurate and effective in supporting people to make healthy changes in six areas: movement; eating; sleep; mental health; smoking; and alcohol consumption. As part of our campaign evaluation, the Quiz will be assessed to explore how many of those who completed the Quiz took action to improve their health, including their mental health.
At the end of the Quiz, people are sign-posted to appropriate help including Better Health - Every Mind Matters, NHS Talking Therapies, or directed to their general practice or 111. The Better Health - Every Mind Matters digital resources offer a range of simple, National Health Service-approved, self-care tips and tools that everyone can use and incorporate into daily routines to help manage common early-stage mental health concerns.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 26 January (HL13746), what plans they have to ensure that the review of the demand for mental health services has a comprehensive evidence base.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The review will be chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy, and supported by Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird as vice‑chairs. A multidisciplinary Advisory Working Group will directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence comprehensively.
The review will seek to understand the factors behind trends in prevalence, the impact of clinical practice, including social and cultural factors and the risks and benefits of medicalisation, and ways to promote the prevention of mental ill health, create resilience, and improve early intervention. The review will examine evidence on prevalence, trends, and inequalities associated with mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to recording sexual offences committed by individuals who have Gender Recognition Certificates.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In England and Wales crime recording is governed by the Home Office Counting rules which are victim-based with offences recorded according to the crime in law that has been committed, such as rape, irrespective of who committed an offence.
In regard to the management of offenders the Government considers that safeguarding is best served through strengthened management of registered sex offenders, regardless of whether or not they have acquired a Gender Recognition Certificate, including enhanced notification requirements, restrictions on changes to identity documents, and close police oversight of high‑risk individuals. These include a requirement for registered sex offenders to notify the police of any changes to their personal information such as change of name. His Majesty’s Passport Office monitors high-risk offenders to ensure they cannot obtain a new passport without police consultation. Failure to comply with requirements in this area is a criminal offence. These measures, provided for in the Crime and Policing Bill and existing legislation, ensure that the authorities have the information necessary to assess and manage risk, and we will continue to monitor these arrangements to ensure they safeguard the public.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total regulatory cost to businesses resulting from the Employment Rights Act 2025, broken down by business size and measured in compliance hours per year.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has published 29 Impact Assessments representing a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Act: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments. Each Impact Assessment considers how impacts may vary depending on business size and includes an estimation of the potential compliance costs.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Gender Recognition Certificate applications are rejected by Gender Recognition Panels due to the applicant being a convicted sex offender.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held.
This is because applicants are not required to provide details of any criminal convictions as part of the Gender Recognition Certificate application process.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Gender Recognition Certificate applications are rejected by Gender Recognition Panels due to concerns around safety and risk.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held.
This is because applicants are not required to provide details of any criminal convictions as part of the Gender Recognition Certificate application process.