Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to enhance the funding and resources for children’s eating disorder services.

We have invested an additional £79 million in 2021/22 to expand children’s mental health services, allowing 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services. NHS England and NHS Improvement also announced a further £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s mental health, including eating disorders. Of this, £10 million capital funding is providing additional beds at units for young people with the most complex needs, including eating disorders, with £1.5 million to ensure facilities for children under 13 years old.

This additional investment supplements existing plans to expand and improve mental health services, including eating disorder services, set out in the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 - 2023/24.