Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the long term mental health effects of the covid-19 outbreak; and what steps the Government is taking to prepare to tackle those effects.

It is very normal during these uncertain and unusual times to be experiencing distress or anxiety, or to be feeling low. People can go to the Every Mind Matters website and GOV.UK for advice and practical steps to manage their mental health during this pandemic. We know that more serious mental illness stemming from experience of trauma can take time to manifest, and work is underway to plan for a possible increase in demand for people needing mental health support due to COVID-19.

We are working with the National Health Service and Public Health England, service users, academics and the voluntary sector to gather evidence and assess the potential longer-term mental health impacts of COVID-19 and plan for how to support the public’s mental health and wellbeing throughout the ‘recovery’ phase.