Speeches by Sewards.

“I have one final question for you all. How should success be measured, and what would meaningful progress look like over the next three to five years in addressing the missing middle and the variation in services across the country?”

“That is helpful. Abigail, how should we address this variation?”

“How would you address that?”

“Thank you. Jo, the EPI has found substantial variation across the country in the range of mental health support services that are delivered outside the NHS. Abigail, YoungMinds has argued that the persistent gaps in provision are exacerbated by the lack of community-based services. What should the policy response be?”

“Do you think the Government are doing enough?”

“I am going to ask you a couple of questions about widening access to mental health support services for young people. Connie, I will start with you. The Centre for Young Lives stated that the threshold for accessing mental health services has risen, which has created a missing middle of young people who do not access s…”

“One final question. You have called for the roll-out of mental health support teams to be accelerated ahead of the 2030 target. Are the Government ambitious enough?”

“I have limited time, so I will be brief. What role should education providers play to support children and young people who are already waiting for specialist mental health support but have not received it yet?”

“You mentioned in a previous answer that children want support in schools. Obviously, education settings are at the forefront, alongside parents and carers. What should a core offer of mental health and wellbeing support in education settings look like?”

“I have one final question for you all. How should success be measured, and what would meaningful progress look like over the next three to five years in addressing the missing middle and the variation in services across the country?”

“That is helpful. Abigail, how should we address this variation?”

“How would you address that?”

“I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate and making an excellent speech. Clearly, the UK faces malign threats from Russia, from China and especially from Iran, as recent examples have shown. I commend the Government for bringing forward the tackling state threats Bill—reportedly next Wednesday, but we …”

“Thank you. Jo, the EPI has found substantial variation across the country in the range of mental health support services that are delivered outside the NHS. Abigail, YoungMinds has argued that the persistent gaps in provision are exacerbated by the lack of community-based services. What should the policy response be?”

“Do you think the Government are doing enough?”

“I am going to ask you a couple of questions about widening access to mental health support services for young people. Connie, I will start with you. The Centre for Young Lives stated that the threshold for accessing mental health services has risen, which has created a missing middle of young people who do not access s…”

“One final question. You have called for the roll-out of mental health support teams to be accelerated ahead of the 2030 target. Are the Government ambitious enough?”

“Are there any further comments on general affordability before we move on?”

“I was going to ask you a few questions about affordability; I still will, but you have already addressed many of the points I was going to try to tease out. Sarah, I was struck when you said earlier—I think it was you—that the poorest third of children get no access to childcare at all. How affordable is childcare to t…”

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