Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of mental health support that young people can access through their GP.

Under the Primary Care Network (PCN) Direct Enhanced Services, networks are able to recruit new roles to expand their care team with 100% reimbursement through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. From April 2021, PCNs have been able to recruit mental health practitioners through the Scheme.

The Mental Health Recovery Action Plan aims to respond to the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the public, specifically targeting groups which have been most impacted including those with severe mental illness, including young people. This is in addition to the £2.3 billion invested in mental health services by 2023-24.

General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.

All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Good Medical Practice.