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 ensure people do not have to wait to access mental health services.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into community-based mental health centres, improving assertive outreach and access to timely mental health care, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.

The plan will build on the work that has already begun to bring down waiting lists. This includes providing an extra £688 million in Government funding this year to transform mental health services, in order to hire more staff, deliver more early interventions, and get waiting lists down. Almost 8,000 additional mental health workers have been recruited since July 2025, latest data shows.

The latest recruitment milestone means the government has almost reached its target of hiring an additional 8,500 mental health staff, helping get people the care they need so they can get back to work, school and doing what they love.