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 improve (a) child and (b) adult mental health services in Cornwall.

We know people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including in Cornwall. We are determined to change that as part of our shift to prevention and earlier intervention, and in line with our Plan for Change.

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. At the end of March 2025, 87% of pupils and learners in Cornwall were covered by a mental health support team.

In addition, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to ease the pressure on the busy mental health services. More than 6,700 extra mental health workers have been employed since July, as per the latest data.

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.