Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the whole of (1) the £1.25 billion of Future in Mind Funding announced in the March 2015 Budget, and (2) the £150 million announced in the Autumn Statement 2014, will be released to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services by 2020.

The Government and NHS England’s plan for the use of this additional investment is set out in Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.

To ensure that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) invest this money as intended we are using the full range of support, levers and incentives including:

- Clear information on what constitutes a high quality service. NHS England is producing guides for commissioners and providers which set out best practice, evidence based interventions and what roles professionals and organisations should play to ensure quality. They have already published guidance on eating disorders and early intervention in psychosis. Guidance on urgent and emergency care for children and young people and a generic pathway for all children and young people with mental health problems are being developed.

- A requirement for all CCGs to increase spend on mental health services by a greater amount than their overall funding increase (the Mental Health Investment Standard).

- Publishing every CCGs spend on children and young people’s mental health as part of the Mental Health Dashboard.

- NHS England’s National Director for Mental Health, Medical Director and National Director for Operations and Information wrote jointly in February 2017 to all CCGs and NHS trusts to get their assurance that the money is indeed being spent as intended and investments meet mental health planning guidance and deliver the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.