Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for children and young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the Lewes constituency.

The Government recognises that, for children and young people experiencing mental health difficulties, timely access to high-quality support is essential.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to improve mental health services across the country, including for children and young people in the Lewes constituency. More widely, as prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackle regional disparities, expand access and improve productivity across services.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning children and young people's mental health services for their local populations, including in the Lewes constituency, and for ensuring services meet local needs.

We are also improving community mental health support by accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to achieve full national coverage by 2029, alongside continued investment in Early Support Hubs to help more children and young people access support before they reach crisis point.

In addition, the Government is developing a new Mental Health Strategy for England, which will set out our plans to improve access to services and support better mental health outcomes.