Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children have died in (a) NHS and (b) private inpatient mental health units in each year since 2010.

Every death is a tragedy and none more so than that of a child or young person. Any death of a young person with mental health problems in an inpatient service is fully investigated and learned from.

Although there are systems in place for reporting and reviewing deaths, they are not unified. The Department is urgently looking into this so that an accurate figure can be provided and are in the process of developing more robust arrangements for the future. I will make a written Ministerial statement to the House on this matter following my remarks in the House on 12 April 2016.