Question follow-through · 123624

Mental Health Services: Staff

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that inpatient mental health services have sufficient staffing levels and the appropriate skill mix to provide safe and therapeutic care.

answeredDepartment of Health and Social Care

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Department of Health and Social Care
Tabled
25 Mar 2026
Target answer date
13 Apr 2026
Answer
16 Apr 2026 · 22 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

More questions by this MP on Health and care

Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.

Votes on this topic

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Recorded timeline

  1. 25 Mar 2026

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that inpatient mental health services have sufficient staffing levels and the appropriate skill mix to provide safe and therapeutic care.

  2. 13 Apr 2026

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 16 Apr 2026

    Answer published

    As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government is recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament. Over 8,000 of these workers h...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

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Babies: Screening

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 99744, what steps his Department is taking to improve the availability and quality of evidence for rare diseases.

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Rare Diseases

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department uses international data when assessing evidence for rare diseases; and if he will make an assessment of the potential role of such data in relation to metachromatic leukodyst

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Metachromatic Leukodystrophy: Screening

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 99741, what evidence the UK National Screening Committee considered in reaching its recommendation on screening for metachromatic leukodystrophy

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Metachromatic Leukodystrophy

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 99743, whether his Department has met with ArchAngel MLD Trust, the MPS Society, MLD Support UK and the Newborn Screening Collaborative; and whe

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10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to the UK National Screening Committee on taking proactive steps to consider adding new conditions to the newborn screening programme.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Babies: Screening

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent additions have been made to the newborn screening programme; and what process is used to determine future additions.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Metachromatic Leukodystrophy: Children

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children have been diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy since 2022; how many of those were diagnosed in time to receive NHS-commissioned treatment; and whether he has made an assess

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Health: Screening

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the UK National Screening Committee's final terms of reference; when those terms were last reviewed; and whether he has made an assessment of their adequacy.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Patient Choice Schemes

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of system level Single Point Of Access (SPOA) on patient choice; and what guidance his Department will issue to integrated care boards

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Resident Doctors: Strikes

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the number of NHS appointments and procedures postponed due to the resident doctors’ strike beginning on 7 April 2026.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Resident Doctors: Strikes

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of of the cost to the NHS of the resident doctors’ strike beginning on 7 April 2026.