Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS Digital's report, Out of Area Placements in Mental Health Services, published in April 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for regional variations in the number of patients being admitted to inappropriate out of area placements as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally.

No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England works with local areas to manage local capacity and understand the challenges which may result in out of area placements.

To prevent out of area placements, efforts are made to reduce the number of patients in mental health beds experiencing long stays; ensure investment in and operation of community based and local authority mental health services; and enable senior clinical and operational leadership to manage patient flow on a daily basis.