Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reduced access to community mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic on the numbers of people detained under the Mental Health Act.

In 2020/21, the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 increased by an estimated 4.5% compared to the previous year. While in ‘Monitoring the Mental Health Act 2020/21’, the Care Quality Commission suggested that reduced access to community mental health services may have caused this increase, the extent has not been confirmed. It is estimated that there were 5.7% fewer detentions under the Act in 2021/22.