Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2017 to Question 113128 on Mental Health Services, what assessment he has made of the effect of the delay to the publication of the mental health pathways on the planning and resource allocation for those services in 2018-19.

The mental health pathways are intended to provide clear guidance to both commissioners and providers in relation to the commissioning and implementation of services to improve access and outcomes for people with mental health problems.

No formal assessment has been made of the impact of delayed publication of the mental health pathways on planning and resource allocation. However clinical commissioning groups’ decisions about resource allocations for mental health are not guided solely by pathways but, also, by a number of other resources. Principally the ‘NHS England Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance’, which provides guidance on the delivery of key transformation objectives, thereby supporting commissioners and providers in meeting key Five Year Forward View for Mental Health recommendations.