Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Mental Health Strategy for England will aim to improve outcomes specific to family carers of those with severe mental illness.

We recognise the many challenges that people care for loved ones with severe mental illnesses face every day, and we will consider the needs of family carers as we develop a new mental health strategy designed to ensure better support is accessible to people across the country with mental health needs.

The forthcoming Mental Health Strategy for England will set out the Government’s priorities for improving mental health and wellbeing and will be informed by engagement with people with lived experience, and their families and carers.

Alongside this, the Government is developing a Modern Service Framework for severe mental illness, which will set consistent standards across the country so that people with severe mental illness receive the best quality, evidence-based, and equitable care and support. Recognising the important role that carers and families play is an important part of this.