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 adequacy of inpatient mental health capacity in Greater Manchester; and what discussions he has had with Pennine Care NHS Trust on that issue.

No such specific assessment has been made. The Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership is responsible for commissioning National Health Service mental health inpatient beds to meet the needs of the local population across Greater Manchester. Neither ministers nor departmental officials have held discussions with the Pennine Care NHS Trust on that issue.

Nationally, our ambition is to avoid unnecessary admissions to mental health inpatient services and provide care close to home, including alternatives to admission. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes piloting neighbourhood mental health centres, which will bring together a range of community mental health services under one roof, including crisis services and short-stay beds.

In addition, all integrated care boards (ICBs) were asked to publish a three-year plan to localise and realign mental health, learning disability, and autism inpatient care. The Greater Manchester ICB shared their plan at their public board on 20 November 2024. The plan commits to making the best use of resource and reducing reliance on inpatient care, so that more people can access care and support for their mental health, as and when they need it.

We will move care closer to home by reducing out of area placements for mental health patients by March 2027, as outlined in the medium-term planning framework. We will also use new integrated health organisations to break down barriers between services and ensure more integrated, holistic care, addressing both physical and mental health care needs, with more freedom to determine how best to meet the needs of their local populations.