§ 14. Mr. HeppellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Association of County Councils to discuss services for mentally ill people. [5623]
§ Mr. BurnsThe Secretary of State meets regularly with the local authority associations, including the Association of County Councils. The last such meeting when mental health issues were discussed took place on 18 September.
§ Mr. HeppellDoes the Minister really believe that the Government bear no responsibility for the number of mentally ill people who are homeless—living on the streets or in hostels—or for the fact that one in every six mental patients who are discharged from hospital are readmitted within 90 days as emergency cases?
§ Mr. BurnsI am rather disappointed that the hon. Gentleman did not have the grace to acknowledge the 791 work that is being done through the record increases in spending on mental health—on the rough sleepers initiative, the mental illness specific grant, the mental health challenge funding and all the other initiatives—to help those with mental illness.