Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding NHS England plans to make available for housing for people with a learning disability and autism in the 2024-25 financial year; and if she will make an estimate of the number of people who will be provided housing through this funding.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England’s 2024/25 Learning Disability and Autism Housing Capital Programme plans to support up to 85 people with learning disabilities or autism who need housing to be discharged from a mental health hospital or to avoid hospital admission. This estimate is based on an expected £13 million capital allocation for 2024/25. Please note that this includes housing schemes that were initiated in 2023/24, as well as schemes that will continue into 2025/26.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to amend the right of offenders sentenced to an Indefinite Hospital Order to apply for a review every 12 months; and whether he has made an assessment of the impact of those reviews on (a) victims and (b) families.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Hospital Orders and the provisions around them are set out in the Mental Health Act 1983 and ensure regular access for patients to a review of their detention by an independent court which will determine whether the criteria for detention continue to be met.
This Government is committed to ensuring that victims’ voices are heard. We are working with the judiciary to introduce an entitlement in the Victims’ Code for Victim Personal Statements in the Mental Health Tribunal, where an offender’s detention is being reviewed. This will give victims the opportunity to explain the impact of the crime on them, and we continue to assess the provision of support for victims engaging with criminal justice processes like the Mental Health Tribunal.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to set targets from April 2024 on reducing the number of people in inpatient settings with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a commitment to reduce reliance on mental health inpatient care for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. NHS England will publish their Operational Planning Guidance for 2024/25, which will set out the planning expectations for National Health Service systems to support delivery of NHS services next year.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help tackle variations between Integrated Care Boards in levels of adults in mental health hospitals with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Each integrated care board (ICB) produces a five-year joint forward plan with partner trusts and foundation trusts. This will encompass the needs of the entire local population, including people with a learning disability and autistic people.
NHS England will continue to work with regional teams and local systems to identify and share areas of good practice, where services have been successful in reducing avoidable admissions to hospital, and helping people to leave hospital when they are clinically ready for discharge.
We expect ICBs, as set out in NHS England statutory guidance published 9 May 2023, to assign an executive lead role for learning disability and autism to a suitable board member. The named lead will support the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people and to have effective oversight of, and support improvements in, the quality of care for people in a mental health, learning disability and autism inpatient setting.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Building the Right Support Delivery Board will continue beyond March 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
While we have made progress on reducing the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health inpatient settings, we recognise that there is more to be done. The Building the Right Support (BtRS) Delivery Board will continue to work collectively to oversee the implementation of remaining BtRS action plan commitments, and to consider what next step actions are required.