Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a specific three-digit mental health support line from which callers can (a) speak directly to a person who is a trained mental health professional to deal with mental health emergencies or (b) have their call triaged to a mental health professional if required.

We have no plans to make an assessment. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing crisis pathways which will ensure 100% coverage of 24 hours a day, seven days a week age-appropriate crisis-care via NHS 111 by 2023/24. All National Health Service mental health providers have now established 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent mental health helplines, which have responded to approximately three million calls during the pandemic.