Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that integrated care boards provide aftercare to eligible patients as set out in section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Monitoring integrated care boards is a matter for NHS England, in line with the NHS System Oversight Framework. With regard to the provision of aftercare as set out in section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, the NHS England Who Pays? guide, and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice, set out the framework for establishing which National Health Service commissioner will be responsible for commissioning and paying for an individual’s NHS care.

The recently published statutory guidance on Discharge from mental health inpatient settings includes national guidance on how budgets and responsibilities should be shared to pay for section 117 aftercare. In accordance with this guidance document, all local social service authorities and NHS commissioning organisations must share a responsibility for making section 117 funding decisions for people entitled to aftercare, within a robust quality assurance framework. This should demonstrate effective transparency and accountability when delivering this joint duty and avoid the risk of duplication, delayed transitions, inefficiency, and poor experience of the person in receipt of the care and support. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings#annex-b-national-guidance-on-how-budgets-and-responsibilities-should-be-shared-to-pay-for-section-117-aftercare-mental-health-act-1983