Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for mental health patients in St Helens South and Whiston constituency.

This is a matter for the local National Health Service.

The Government’s mandate to the NHS for 2015/16 and our publication Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020 both include a commitment to introduce tailored access and waiting times for mental health in 2015/16. We have invested a total of £120 million in this work.

Total mental health spending increased from £11.362 billion in 2013/14 to a planned £11.664 billion in 2014/15, a rise of £302 million.