Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will establish a covenant to guarantee parental involvement in children's care at in-patient mental health units.

NHS England’s inpatient service specifications already contain specific requirements on family and carer involvement. Paragraph 2.19 of the Tier 4 Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) general adolescent-service specification states that family and carer involvement should include, if appropriate:

- Rights to visits and phone calls with family/carers;

- Involvement with family/carers in providing a history; and

- Involvement of family/carers in appropriate treatment and planning for discharge.

The CAMHS Clinical Reference Group is developing a toolkit for parents and carers. This will provide guidance and good practise on involving parents or carers when a young person is admitted to an inpatient unit. Young Minds and the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Quality Network for Inpatient CAMHS are developing this in partnership. Reference to the toolkit and the requirement to facilitate access, will be included in all service specifications and, therefore, in provider contracts.