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 ensure that new mental health staff are deployed in areas of greatest demand in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government is recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services across the NHS, including in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. More than 6,700 extra mental health workers have been employed since July, as per the latest data.

We are working with NHS England to deliver a refreshed workforce plan, which will revolve around the three shifts to deliver our 10-Year Health Plan: moving more care from hospitals to communities; making better use of technology in health and care; and focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it.

Responsibility for the 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.