Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the number and adequacy of staffing levels for child and adolescent mental health services in (a) the Wirral and (b) England.

NHS Digital publish NHS Hospital and Community Health Services data which shows that as at 31 March 2017, latest available data, there are 161 (full time equivalent) staff providing child and adolescent mental health services in the Wirral and 8,398 (fte) in England.

All staff working in child and adolescent mental health services include medical staff working in the specialty of child and adolescent psychiatry and non-medical staff with a secondary area of work of child and adolescent psychiatry.

The Wirral includes Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust and Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

In terms of staffing levels in mental health, we are working with Health Education England to develop a plan for publication this year. The scope of this will include growing the workforce and expanding the skills of the existing workforce, both for adult mental health services, and to address the workforce recommendations for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services set out in Future in Mind available at the link:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414024/Childrens_Mental_Health.pdf