Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from mental health organisations about the next NHS mandate.

A public consultation on the Government’s Mandate to NHS England took place earlier this year, to which 139 organisations of various types responded. Those concerned specifically with mental health included the Mental Health Foundation, the Mental Health Policy Group and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition. Charities and patient groups that responded, especially those with an interest in long-term conditions, often made reference to the impact of such conditions on the mental health of those that they represent.

The Government response to the consultation, published on 17 December 2015, summarises these concerns and sets out its response to them. A copy of the document is attached.