Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) improve mental health services and (b) reduce the rate of suicide in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.

NHS North East London Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of people in Romford.

Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services by hiring more staff, delivering more early interventions and talking therapies and getting waiting lists down.

We are delivering on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 staff across children and adult mental health services by the end of the Parliament and 6,700 of these extra workers have been recruited since July 2024. And our Mental Health Bill, which has completed its committee stage in this House, will modernise the Mental Health Act and make it fit for the 21st century.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country so that the right people get the right support at the right time. We are transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving assertive outreach and giving patients better access to round-the-clock support directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies.