Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of how effectively the measures in the draft Mental Health Bill would facilitate early intervention measures where mental health concerns are raised in relation to children and other young people; and what his proposed timetable is for bringing forward the Mental Health Bill.

No specific assessment has been made. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to an additional £2.3 billion a year for the expansion and transformation of mental health services in England by 2023/24, so that an additional 345,000 children and young people can access National Health Service funded mental health support, including early intervention services.

The Government published a draft Mental Health Bill on 23 June 2022. It is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-mental-health-bill-2022

The proposed legislative reforms aim to provide greater autonomy to individuals to inform the care and treatment they receive when they are made subject to the Act. This includes children and young people.

The draft Bill is currently subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by a joint Parliamentary Committee. Information on the Committee is available at the following link:

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/605/joint-committee-on-the-draft-mental-health-bill/

Following pre-legislative scrutiny, the Government will bring forward a Mental Health Bill when parliamentary time allows.