Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase levels of access to (a) educational psychologists, (b) speech and language therapy and (c) child and adolescent mental health services in Devon.

We know that too many children and young people are not receiving the support they need, including in Devon, and that waits for accessing mental health services and community health services, such as speech and language therapy, are too long. We are determined to change that.

We are working closely with the Department for Education on reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school. As set out in the NHS Planning Operational Guidance for 2025/26, we are committed to increasing the number of children and young people accessing mental health services by 345,000 compared to 2019. We are also providing £7 million to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community. This includes two early support hubs in Devon.

In Devon, the NHS Devon Integrated Care Board, local authorities, and education and health care providers are working together to align speech and language therapists to schools alongside wider community offers, so that more children and young people can get the help they need sooner, and without long waits.