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 help reduce CAHMS waiting times in Surrey Heath constituency.

We know children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England. We are determined to change that.

Nationally, the Government is providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England and roll out Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support for children and young people.

In addition, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to ease pressure on busy mental health services.

Responsibility for onward commissioning of mental health services sits with integrated care boards (ICB). It is the role of local ICB decision-makers to consider the implications of mental health services, specific to each geography and including the perspectives of healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, and local authorities.