Written questions by Hayes.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Open Dialogue approach to mental health care; and whether he plans to support its wider adoption within the NHS.

Awaiting answer.

What metrics his Department is using to measure progress in improving mental health outcomes, and how these compare with those used for physical health.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the potential relationship between the findings of the interim report of the Independent Report into Young People and Work, led by Alan Milburn, and waiting lists for

The Department welcomes the interim report of the Independent Review into Young People and Work led by Alan Milburn, which provides an important assessment of the drivers of youth inactivity. The report highlights that ill health, including mental health,...

What plans his Department has to scale and spread effective community-based mental health support models through the forthcoming Mental Health Strategy.

We are developing a new cross-Government Mental Health Strategy for England, to be published later this year. We have launched a Call for Evidence to inform the strategy, which closes on 10 July. The Call for Evidence seeks practical, implementation-focus...

What progress his Department has made on the development of a Modern Service Framework for severe mental illness, and what timeline he has set for its publication.

The Modern Service Framework for Severe Mental Illness is an important part of our new approach to mental health. To ensure that we get this right, we are engaging extensively with the mental health sector, including people with lived experience. We are a...

What assessment he has made of inequalities in access to mental health treatment, and what steps he is taking to address them.

The Government recognises that mental health inequalities persist, with some groups, including disabled people, racialised communities, and those living in more deprived areas, reporting poorer experiences of care and facing greater barriers to access.The...

What steps he is taking to help ensure that mental health research receives equitable funding compared with physical health research.

The Department commissions and funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom and is funding a range of research in mental health to inform ...

What steps his Department is taking to expand and improve assertive outreach services for people with severe mental illness.

We recognise that assertive care is a vital component of community mental health services. NHS England has issued draft guidance to services which makes clear what, as a minimum, they should be doing to support people who would benefit from intensive and ...

What recent steps his Department has taken to improve access for people living with mental illness to new and innovative treatments.

We know that one size does not fit all when it comes to mental health, and that is why a range of innovative treatments are needed. We are considering this in the new Mental Health Strategy for England we are currently developing, to be published later th...

What assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the health-related recommendations in the interim report of the Milburn Review, particularly in relation to

The Department welcomes the interim report of the Independent Review into Young People and Work led by Alan Milburn, which provides an important assessment of the drivers of youth inactivity. The report highlights that ill health, including mental health,...

What progress has been made in tackling mental health waiting lists since July 2024.

The Government recognises that people are waiting too long to access National Health Service mental health services. We have already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS mental health services, but there is much more to do. Transforming th...

Whether his Department plans to introduce waiting time standards across all mental health services as part of the forthcoming Mental Health Strategy.

The Government recognises that people are waiting too long to access National Health Service mental health services. We have already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS mental health services, but there is much more to do. Transforming th...

At what pace he expects the NHS to reduce waiting times for mental health services.

The Government recognises that people are waiting too long to access National Health Service mental health services. We have already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS mental health services, but there is much more to do. Transforming th...

What comparative assessment he has made of levels of progress between waiting lists for mental health services and elective physical health treatments.

The Government recognises that people are waiting too long to access National Health Service mental health services. We have already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS mental health services, but there is much more to do. Transforming th...

If he will include health play professionals in the modelling for multi-disciplinary paediatric teams for the new neighbourhood health service.

We will deliver a Neighbourhood Health Service that serves everybody, everywhere across the country, including children and young people. An important feature of our new Neighbourhood Health Service will be the rollout of Neighbourhood Health Centres in every community, including multidisciplinary neighbourhood teams who will work together around the needs of children and families. The make-up of neighbourhood multi-disciplinary teams for children and young people is locally determined by integrated care boards. Local commissioners determine the role for each practitioner within neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams based upon the clinical interventions being undertaken.Play specialists could be involved as part of a neighbourhood multi-disciplinary teams for children and young people but this is likely only appropriate for multi-disciplinary teams who provide face to face patient care. For example, when a general practitioner and paediatrician hold a joint clinic in the practice or local setting.

What steps he is taking to build capacity in the health play professional sector, including training, qualifications and registration, as sought in NHS England's Play Well toolkit published in June 2025.

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit, published in June 2025, includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England. It aims to improve access to child-friendly care and specialised health play services across paediatric healthcare. NHS England is promoting the toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. The toolkit provides clear guidance on supporting practical training and mentorship in healthcare settings.The Play Well toolkit aims to ensure that health play services have the right staff with the right qualifications to deliver a high-quality service. This includes ensuring that services are able to support the training and development of the health play specialists they employ.Health play specialists are trained through foundation degrees and prospective health play specialists can also be trained through the apprenticeship route.

What steps he is taking to support paediatric settings to adopt the recommended Play Well standards in NHS England's Play Well toolkit published in June 2025.

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit, published in June 2025, includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England. It aims to improve access to child-friendly care and specialised health play services across paediatric healthcare.To support adoption of Play Well standards, NHS England is promoting the toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. The toolkit provides clear guidance on supporting practical training and mentorship in healthcare settings.A range of communication channels have been used to raise awareness, including engagement with services via professional bodies, messaging via the Chief Nursing Officer, a blog posts and ongoing promotion of the toolkit across the National Health Service through operational delivery networks, directly to trusts and directly with professional groups.

What steps he is taking to digitise the Play Well checklist, as published in NHS England's Play Well toolkit in June 2025, to enable data-based quality improvement, monitoring, evaluation and mapping of provision.

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.In June 2025, a number of Operational Delivery Networks came together to digitise the play well checklist, which is available to colleagues across the National Health Service to utilise within their services. The availability of this digital version of the checklist has been included in the content of the webinar and subsequent meetings where the Play Well toolkit is shared. It is also available on the Starlight website.

What steps he is taking to deliver training in health play principles to multi-disciplinary teams as sought in NHS England's Play Well toolkit published in June 2025.

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit, published in June 2025, includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England. It aims to improve access to child-friendly care and specialised health play services across paediatric healthcare. NHS England is promoting the toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. The toolkit provides clear guidance on supporting practical training and mentorship in healthcare settings.The Play Well toolkit sets out what employers should consider when developing a standard operating procedure for a play team, and this includes training for staff who may encounter children in the course of their work. It is for services to determine what is required and to ensure their teams receive relevant training.

If he will make children’s play a key component of the commitment to creating the healthiest generation of children ever, and as part of the shifts from treatment to prevention, and from hospital to community.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This ambition is at the heart of our 10-Year Health Plan, which sets out three radical shifts: from treatment to prevention; from hospital to community; and from analogue to digital care.The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings. The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit, published in June 2025, includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.NHS England is promoting the Play Well toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. A range of communication channels have been used to raise awareness of the toolkit, including through professional bodies, messages from the Chief Nursing Officer, and through delivery networks directly to trusts and professional groups.We remain committed to working with partners to ensure that the Play Well guidelines and standards are embedded and that all children receive appropriate care and support when they need it.