Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill's Report entitled Draft Mental Health Bill 2022, published on 19 January 2023, HC 696.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Shipley on 5 September 2023 to Question 195933.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children living in Tooting constituency are waiting for an ADHD assessment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Data on the number of children on a waiting list for an assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not held centrally but may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners. The Department is exploring options for improving data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments and diagnoses, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management’.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children living in Tooting constituency are waiting for an Autism assessment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The data requested is not held centrally. However, some relevant information can be drawn from the Mental Health Service Data Set.
Whilst data is not available at a constituency level, it is available at the integrated care system (ICS) level. According to the latest Autism Waiting Time Statistics, the number of patients aged zero to 17 years old with an open suspected autism referral (diagnosis not yet complete) waiting for first contact appointment in South West London ICS at the end of June 2023 was 1,690. Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate. Caution should be used when interpreting these statistics since they are experimental rather than official. The latest Autism Waiting Time Statistics are available at the following link:
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether legislative proposals to reform the Mental Health Act 1983 will be announced in the King's Speech.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The contents of the King’s Speech are not announced before it has been delivered by His Majesty.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains Government policy to reform the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government remains committed to reforming mental health legislation in England and will introduce a Mental Health Bill when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of people using community mental health services are receiving psychological therapy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Information derived from the mental health services dataset shows that 9.9 per cent. of people referred to community mental health services with a contact in the period from August 2021 to July 2022 were referred to psychological therapy with a contact in the same period. In some cases, the same person may have had more than one referral within this period.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue the local funding for suicide prevention which was previously allocated through the NHS Long Term Plan 2019.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Long Term Plan commits to investing £57 million in suicide prevention by March 2024 through the NHS Long Term Plan. Through this, all areas of the country are seeing investment to support local suicide prevention plans and the development of suicide bereavement services. Funding beyond 2024/25 is subject to future Spending Reviews, and we will consider further opportunities to build upon this investment for suicide prevention.
On 25 August 2023, the Government launched the Suicide Prevention Grant Fund to support suicide prevention activities delivered in England by voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to March 2025. The fund will support non-profit organisations to meet the increased demand seen in recent years and support a range of diverse and innovative activity that can prevent suicides, both at a national and community level.
As the Chancellor announced in the Spring Budget 2023, we will provide an extra £10 million over the next two years to the VCSE sector through a Suicide Prevention VCSE Grant Fund, which will support them to sustain their services, help meet increased demand for support, prevent suicides and stem the flow into crisis services.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent meetings with the families of patients from the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is determined to appoint a new Chair for the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry as soon as possible. Work to appoint a new chair is currently in progress, and Parliament will be updated on the progress of setting up the inquiry in due course.
No recent meetings have been held with the families of patients from the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, however, the Inquiry team continues to liaise with the families.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to appoint a new chair for the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is determined to appoint a new Chair for the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry as soon as possible. Work to appoint a new chair is currently in progress, and Parliament will be updated on the progress of setting up the inquiry in due course.
No recent meetings have been held with the families of patients from the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, however, the Inquiry team continues to liaise with the families.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to improve access to Specialist Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment for 66,000 women to access specialist perinatal mental health services available from preconception to 24 months after birth by March 2024.
This includes 35 maternal mental health services which are currently live. These services continue to be rolled out and will be available across England by 2024. These bring together psychological therapy, maternity services and reproductive health for women who have mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. They will also offer an evidence-based mental health assessment and signposting as required to fathers and partners of women accessing specialist perinatal mental health services and maternal mental health services.
As part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, the Department is investing around £100 million to promote positive early relationships and provide mental health support for families in 75 local authorities. This complements activity in the NHS Long Term Plan by including support for mild to moderate perinatal mental health difficulties and for fathers and co-parents.