Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle waiting lists for mental health services in Hertfordshire.

To improve mental health waiting lists in the Hertfordshire area, 14 organisations have formed the Hertfordshire Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism Collaborative. The Collaborative aims to develop joint working between these organisations to improve outcomes for local people. It will address local mental health demand in Hertfordshire and manage waiting times to ensure people receive the treatment they need as soon as possible.

We have provided an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expanding the provision of mental health services in England. This will allow an additional two million people to access timely mental health care. We have also invested a further £500 million in 2021/22.