Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure that everyone who suffers from an eating disorder is able to access treatment and support regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or background.

The Government is committed to ensuring everyone with an eating disorder has access to timely treatment based on clinical need. NHS England’s ‘Access and Waiting Time Standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder: Commissioning Guide’ sets out guidance on establishing and maintaining eating disorder services.

It states that eating disorder services for young people should follow the overarching principles for service design and development for children’s services required of local transformation plans. This includes meeting legal duties with regard to equality, with an aim to reduce inequality in access and outcomes.

The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cyp-eating-disorders-access-waiting-time-standard-comm-guid.pdf