Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to introduce access and waiting time standards so that adults with an eating disorder receive NICE guideline-approved treatment within four weeks.

A pathway for adults with eating disorders, together with detailed implementation guidance for providers, will be developed by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence during 2017/18. This work will be fully informed by the available evidence and the views of experts by experience.

In parallel to this, a baseline data collection will be undertaken to measure existing levels of investment, capacity and activity across inpatient and community services for adults with eating disorders to assess the feasibility of introducing a mandatory waiting time standard.