§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met his independent reference group on mental health. [24449]
§ Jacqui SmithThe last meeting of this group took place on 11 February 1998. My right. hon Friend the Secretary of State for Health has never met with this reference group, however my right hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South (Mr. Boateng), when Under-Secretary of State for Health, met with the group at their last meeting on the 11 February 1998. The independent reference group discontinued its work in 1998
§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Secretary of State for Education in order to discuss the training for state schools in the skills and knowledge to ensure children have access to early assessment and support in relation to mental health. [24687]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer 8 January 2002]My right hon. Friend has not met with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to discuss this topic. We recognise the importance of promoting children's mental health and emotional well-being and the importance of working together to promote this.
We have an on-going commitment to the improvement of child mental health and it will be an important part of the Children's National Service Framework. We shall be working closely with the Department for Education and Skills when developing the mental health module of the framework. This is a major development and will safeguard the quality of child mental health services.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Government expects to publish its strategy for women's mental health. [28288]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer 18 January 2002]The Department will publish the women's mental health consultation document in the spring and, after a period of consultation, will publish the strategy implementation document in the autumn.