Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of BME service user-led groups to the mental health system; and what proposals they have made to guarantee continued funding for such groups.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Department and NHS England are committed to working collaboratively with service users, ensuring mental health services are fit for purpose and meet the needs of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including black, Asian and minority ethnicities.
Programmes such as Up My Street, three projects to improve young black men’s resilience in Birmingham, highlight the potential benefits to mental wellbeing through participation in community-focused activities, in turn helping to tackle high levels of diagnosed severe mental illness.
Co-production is a core principle of NHS England, and a copy of A Co-production Model: Five values and seven steps to make this happen in reality is attached. In responding to the recommendations of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, a Mental Health Black Voices Network has been established to provide feedback on programmes including the design of a mental health community forensic model. Additional funding to support transformation of secure services totals £94 million over the period from 2017/18 to 2020/21.
The Department commissioned an Independent Review of the Mental Health Act to address concerns surrounding the disproportionate number of people from black, Asian and minority ethnicities detained under the Act. An interim report was published on 1 May 2018, and a copy of The independent review of the Mental Health Act: Interim report is attached. Work to date has included focus groups with service users and carers to consider issues affecting black, Asian and minority ethnicities, and engagement will continue over the coming months to address known gaps in evidence around best practice models for these communities.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act: interim report that services for peoples of Afro-Caribbean heritage "do not always take proper account of people's cultural circumstances and needs"; and what action they intend to take to remedy this.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Professor Sir Simon Wessely, chair of the independent review of the Mental Health Act, published an interim report on Tuesday 1 May 2018.
The interim report outlines emerging findings and issues that require further examination. A copy of The independent review of the Mental Health Act: Interim report is attached.
The independent review will make final recommendations to the Government in autumn 2018. The Government will consider the recommendations and then publish its response.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on mental health workforce requirements of their proposals for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in schools.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The proposals set out in Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper, published on 4 December 2017, do not make new requirements on schools - it will be up to schools to decide whether to put a Designated Senior Lead in place (around half already have one and see the benefits it brings). For those schools which decide to put Designated Leads in place, we will provide training for them. A copy of the Green Paper is attached.
For the Mental Health Support Teams, the proposals suggest that a new workforce of child wellbeing practitioners will be recruited and trained, with supervision from National Health Service specialist children and young people’s mental health services. The impact assessment, published alongside the Green Paper, includes initial estimates of workforce requirements. A copy of the impact assessment is attached.
We have committed to make available funding to start a programme of trailblazers over the next three financial years from 2018/19 and we will test and evaluate different models for the Support Teams, including looking at workforce implications. We will also carefully consider responses to the public consultation to inform our design of the trailblazers.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on schools budgets and those of NHS Trusts and commissioning bodies of their proposals for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in schools.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The proposals set out in Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper, published on 4 December 2017, do not make new requirements on schools and their budgets - it will be up to schools to decide whether to put a Designated Senior Lead in place (around half already have one and see the benefits it brings). For those schools which decide to put Designated Leads in place, we will provide training and up to £15-20 million each year from 2019 to cover costs of a significant training programme. A copy of the Green Paper is attached.
For the Mental Health Support Teams, the proposals suggest that a new workforce of child wellbeing practitioners will be recruited and trained, with supervision from National Health Service specialist children and young people’s mental health services. The impact assessment, published alongside the Green Paper, includes initial estimates of workforce requirements. A copy of the impact assessment is attached.
We have committed to make available funding to start a programme of trailblazers over the next three financial years from 2018/19 and we will test and evaluate different models for the Support Teams, including looking at workforce implications. We will also carefully consider responses to the public consultation to inform our design of the trailblazers.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
Her Majesty's Government what conclusions they have drawn from the Care Quality Commission review The state of care in mental health services 2014 to 2017, published on 20 July, as to the numbers and experience of BME patients in locked wards across England.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Data on the number of BME patients being treated in locked rehabilitation wards in England is not collected centrally, though we would expect trusts to pay close attention to such data.
The Government welcomes the findings of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) report and shares its concerns about inappropriate use of locked rehabilitation wards. The department will consider the implications in discussion with NHS England, NHS Improvement and the CQC.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
Her Majesty's Government how many patients from BME backgrounds spent a period of their care in locked wards in England during each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Data on the number of BME patients being treated in locked rehabilitation wards in England is not collected centrally, though we would expect trusts to pay close attention to such data.
The Government welcomes the findings of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) report and shares its concerns about inappropriate use of locked rehabilitation wards. The department will consider the implications in discussion with NHS England, NHS Improvement and the CQC.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
Her Majesty's Government, what data are collected regarding the number of BME patients in locked wards in England; and what plans they have to impose new requirements for the collection of such data.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Data on the number of BME patients being treated in locked rehabilitation wards in England is not collected centrally, though we would expect trusts to pay close attention to such data.
The Government welcomes the findings of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) report and shares its concerns about inappropriate use of locked rehabilitation wards. The department will consider the implications in discussion with NHS England, NHS Improvement and the CQC.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the measures adopted in Scotland which provide guidance and support for children and young adults affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Early intervention services can help reduce some of the effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and prevent some of the secondary disabilities that result. Responsibility for commissioning these services lies with clinical commissioning groups.
The Department will consider the impact of the measures adopted in Scotland to support children and young adults affected by FASD and whether there are any lessons for England.
The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the latest information about the health risks of different levels and patterns of drinking. The guidelines enable people to make informed choices about their drinking.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have developed for the treatment and support of children and young people affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Early intervention services can help reduce some of the effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and prevent some of the secondary disabilities that result. Responsibility for commissioning these services lies with clinical commissioning groups.
The Department will consider the impact of the measures adopted in Scotland to support children and young adults affected by FASD and whether there are any lessons for England.
The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the latest information about the health risks of different levels and patterns of drinking. The guidelines enable people to make informed choices about their drinking.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders on the early years development of children, their behaviours and their life chances.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
It is recognised that Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) can have a significant impact on the early years development of children, their behaviours and their life chances. The Department has been exploring the feasibility of commissioning new research in the area of FASD. However, identifying methodologically feasible and robust new research in this area is challenging, expensive and faces ethical challenges.
The World Health Organization is starting a global prevalence study on FASD, recognising that this information is lacking in many countries. There are a number of challenges on the feasibility of estimating prevalence, which should be addressed in this study. We welcome this study and will consider the lessons for further work in the United Kingdom.