Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to expand existing Government (a) schemes and (b) incentives such as salary sacrifice or employment assistance programmes in order to make (i) psychotherapy and (ii) other mental health support services more affordable.
The Government already supports employers to provide a number of health and wellbeing initiatives for their employees which are tax exempt. This includes up to £500 towards recommended medical treatments to help employees return to work, as well as eye tests, annual health checks and welfare counselling. In March 2020 this was expanded, to include under the exemption for welfare counselling, counselling services which are also medical treatments, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Interpersonal Therapy. The Government keeps all taxes under review.