Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of data published by NHS England on waiting times for children and young people to begin community eating disorder treatment.

The Government keeps data published by NHS England on waiting times for children and young people’s community eating disorder services under close review.

We recognise that demand for services has increased and that performance varies across the country. That is why we are reforming eating disorder services so that children and young people can access timely, effective support when they need it, rather than after their condition has escalated.

This shift towards prevention and stronger community-based support underpins the new National Health Service guidance for children and young people’s eating disorder services. The Government is also recruiting 8,500 additional mental health workers across the NHS to increase capacity and reduce unwarranted variation in waiting times.

We will continue to work with NHS England and the integrated care boards to improve performance against national access standards and ensure children and young people can access high-quality care regardless of where they live.