Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of accessibility to NHS mental health services, including average waiting times for assessment and treatment for residents in Lewes constituency.

The Government recognises that too many people are waiting too long for mental health support and is committed to improving access to services.

Data on average waiting times for assessment and treatment for National Health Service mental health services are not held centrally at the parliamentary constituency level. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning mental health services for their local populations, including in the Lewes constituency, and for ensuring services meet local needs. NHS England continues to work with local systems to improve access to services, including through the development of neighbourhood mental health teams that provide care and support closer to home. In Sussex, 16 neighbourhood mental health teams have been established, including one serving Lewes, bringing together mental health services and wider support organisations to deliver more integrated, locally tailored care.

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. 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 and investing in early support hubs.

The forthcoming Mental Health Strategy and the Modern Service Frameworks for Severe Mental Illness and for Children and Young People will help improve consistency, reduce unwarranted variation, and ensure patients receive high-quality, evidence-based care wherever they live.