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 access to clinical psychology services.

The Government is committed to improving access to high‑quality mental health support, including clinical psychology services. Through our 10-Year Health Plan, we are expanding NHS Talking Therapies so more people can receive effective, evidence‑based treatment for common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. By March 2029, we have committed to providing 915,000 courses of NHS Talking Therapies treatment.

For people with more complex needs, we are transforming adult community mental health services by establishing community‑based mental health centres, which bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care to provide open‑access, local support before people reach crisis.

We are also expanding Individual Placement and Support (IPS), which provides tailored employment support for people with severe mental illness. By March 2029, 73,500 people will be able to access this programme, helping more people to recover and stay well.

To increase capacity across mental health services, we are recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament. Almost 8,000 of these workers have already been recruited, strengthening the workforce that supports clinical psychology and other specialist services.