Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that England has enough mental health beds for (a) adults and (b) children and adolescents.

It is the responsibility of commissioners to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including adults and children.

We are supporting integrated care boards to expand mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to increasing investment into mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. This will see a significant expansion in community and crisis mental health services to help adults and children get quicker access to the care they need and prevent avoidable deterioration and hospital admission.

Alongside this, the Government is also delivering capital investment in the National Health Service mental health estate. This includes investment in mental health urgent and emergency care infrastructure – funding new and improved spaces to support people experiencing mental health crisis via crisis houses, improvements to emergency departments, step-down beds, and other similar schemes. The Government is also investing in replacing dormitory accommodation in mental health facilities with single ensuite rooms across the country.