Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the effectiveness of the level 4 gateway referral process to support children with mental health needs.

NHS England continually assesses the effectiveness of children and young people’s Tier 4 mental health services. The National Health Service is working to reduce reliance on inpatient beds and to have fewer young people being detained under the Mental Health Act. To support this, the model of inpatient care is being reviewed and re-designed to support the move to a community-based provision of care, where children and young people can access appropriate support in a timely, effective, and patient-centred way, close to home and in the least restrictive environment.

NHS England is also committed to developing a national Tier 4 admission protocol for children and young people with multi-agency partners, which will seek to address the need for improvement and consistency in practice when identifying the clinical suitability of admission to hospital, the checks and balances required prior to making referral for a Mental Health Act assessment and promotion of the least restrictive practice principle across services.  The national protocol is due to be completed by summer 2023.