Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department are making towards recruiting 8,500 additional mental health staff.

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, in February the Government delivered on its commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers this Parliament, three years ahead of schedule.

Between 30 June 2024 and 28 February 2026, the mental health workforce has grown by 8,716 full time equivalents. Further information is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics