Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase early mental health support for young people in community settings; if he will make it his policy to deliver a network of open-access drop-in mental health hubs for young people up to age 25 with low-level mental health needs delivered through the NHS in partnership with local authorities, the voluntary sector and digital providers; and if he will make a statement.

There are currently no plans to deliver such a network of hubs nationally. Plans for such interventions are for local commissioning and clinical determination.

However, we are committed to implementing the proposals in the children and young people’s mental health Green Paper, including mental health support teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges. By 2023/24, at least an additional 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 years old will be able to access National Health Service funded mental health services and school or college-based MHSTs.

MHSTs will provide a core offer of evidence-based mental health support, but clinical commissioning groups will have flexibility to design teams according to local need and existing provision. We expect them to do so in partnership with schools and colleges, local authorities and other local bodies.