Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 12 of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all acute hospitals will have mental health liaison teams for all age groups by 2020-21.

Between 2016 and 2018, NHS England has awarded transformation funding for liaison mental health services to 71 hospital sites to achieve the ‘core 24’ service standard as set out in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.

To track progress, NHS England has commissioned the annual survey of liaison psychiatry, which took a snapshot of progress as at June 2018. The survey is nearly complete and results are expected to be published by NHS England in the coming weeks and are expected to demonstrate positive progress. The survey has been re-commissioned to take place again in 2019.

The NHS Long Term Plan confirmed continued further investment in liaison mental health services, with an expectation that not only would all hospitals have a liaison mental health service, but 70% will be achieving the ‘core 24’ service level by 2023/24. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently inviting applications from sustainability and transformation partnerships for the second wave of national funding.