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 increase the provision of psychological support for people living with MS and other neurological conditions.

The NHS RightCare progressive neurological conditions toolkit states that patients with a neurological condition will be offered a regular review of their emotional and psychological status and supported to access information and mental health services when needed. Support may include counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, written advice or a neuro-psychological specialist if required. In addition, people living with multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions may be referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service.

We are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year for mental health services by 2023/24. The Mental Health Recovery Action Plan also provided £500 million of targeted investment in 2021/22. This will enable an extra two million people in England to access National Health Service-funded mental health support, with an additional 27,000 mental health professions recruited to support this expansion.