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 the provision of mental health support services to vulnerable children after 2021.

Children’s mental health, including for the most vulnerable, remains a priority for this Government and will continue to form a key part of National Health Service provision as we look beyond 2021. In June, the Prime Minister announced her intention to work with the NHS to develop a 10-year plan for the future of the health service, underpinned by a five-year funding offer which will see the NHS budget grow by over £20 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24. The NHS will produce a new long-term plan led by clinicians – setting out how the money will be used to deliver our vision for the health service and to ensure every penny is well spent.

The plan will be developed by the NHS, working closely with the Government and will be published later this year. Better access to mental health services is one of the priorities to help achieve the Government’s commitment for parity of esteem between mental and physical health. This will be a significant step forward towards improving, and continuing to deliver, high-quality mental health support services.