Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of NHS funding is allocated to mental health care.

In 2025/26, total forecast mental health spend is £15.6 billion, which works out at 8.71% of the recurrent National Health Service baseline of £179.4 billion. This was set out in a Written Ministerial Statement by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 27 March 2025.

As the Medium-Term Planning Framework makes clear, we need a new approach for mental health to drive down waits, improve the quality of care, and increase the productivity of mental health services.

Funding is a key part of this. We have set out that over the next three years, integrated care boards will be required to meet the mental health investment standard by protecting mental health spending in real terms. In other words, rising in line with inflation from 2026/27.