Written statement: Health Investment - Mar 12

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting): Today, I am publishing the annual statement for NHS mental health spend. The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a statutory requirement to publish a statement setting out expectations for NHS mental health services spending before the end of each financial year.

The government is committed to improving and supporting the nation's mental health, focused on delivering better outcomes rather than just inputs – giving people the right support, at the right time. This priority runs consistently through our manifesto, the 10 Year Health Plan and NHS England's Medium-Term Planning Framework. We recognise that more must be done to reduce unacceptable waits and ensure services meet the needs of the population. That is why the Medium‑Term Planning Framework sets such ambitious goals for Integrated Care Boards over the next three years to drive improvements across mental health services, including putting mental health support in every school by 2029, expanding NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement Support, and reducing the number of inappropriate out-of-area placements by the end of March 2027.

The government has already taken action to improve mental health care, including through the Mental Health Act 2025, which ensures more personalised and compassionate care for people with severe mental illness. I have also launched an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, so that we can build an improved system that prevents mental ill-health and delivers improved outcomes. Later this year, we will publish a new Modern Service Framework that will set out what excellent care should look like for people with severe mental illness. Alongside this, we are confronting the root causes of mental ill-health through cross-government action, including through our Suicide Prevention Strategy and Men's Health Strategy, and I fully support the Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary's efforts to make the online world safer for children.

On funding, real-terms spending on mental health continues to increase year on year, reflecting this government's commitment to improving mental health services. For 2026-27, mental health spending is forecast to reach a record £16.1 billion, up from £15.7 billion in 2025-26. This represents a real-terms increase of around £140 million compared with 2025-26. Real-terms growth in budgets will enable continued delivery of the ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan and the Medium-Term Planning Framework.

2026-27 spending also includes ring‑fenced Service Development Funding: firstly, to expand access to NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support, ensuring we reach those most in need while also supporting economic growth; and secondly, for accelerating the expansion of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to 100% coverage by 2029.

We are also making significant capital investment over the Spending Review period. £473 million of mental health capital funding has been made available over 2026–27 to 2029–30, as set out in NHS England's Capital Guidance, published in November. This funding is available to systems to invest in Community-based Mental Health Centres, establish Mental Health Emergency Departments and reduce inappropriate out-of-area placements and locked inpatient rehabilitation.

Critically, financial safeguards remain in place. I am pleased to update the House that in 2025-26, all Integrated Care Boards are forecast to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard, which sets a minimum rate of growth in annual spend on mental health services. These figures are based on data up to December, as full‑year data are not yet available. To maintain this progress, the government is requiring all Integrated Care Boards to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard over the next three years. As this statement must be issued before the start of the new financial year, the figures for 2026-27 represent the best current estimates, based on projections that take account of the Medium‑Term Planning Framework allocations published on 17 November 2025.

The proportion of overall NHS spend allocated to mental health in 2026-27 is forecast to be 8.4%, 0.28 percentage points lower than in 2025-26. This is a consequence of significant additional investment in other core areas, including those that benefit mental health services such as the substantial amounts going into NHS technology and digital transformation, general practice, community-based services, and Neighbourhood Health Centres. These system-wide improvements are focused on fixing the fundamentals of the NHS and, although they are not counted in pure mental health service spend, will deliver significant benefits for mental health services and patients. There are also important areas of mental health‑related expenditure not captured in the share of spend figure, such as prescribing mental health medication, continuing healthcare and NHS England's investment in training the mental health workforce.

The 2025-26 NHS baseline has been restated to include the 2025-26 pay uplift. The 2026-27 NHS baseline has been updated to reflect last year's Spending Review settlement, including some items which were not previously included in the baseline for this assessment, but are now recurrently part of the NHS budget. Total forecast mental health spend includes Integrated Care Board expenditure contributing to the Mental Health Investment Standard, as well as NHS England's Service Development Fund and Specialised Commissioning spend on mental health. It also incorporates the £117 million from the Autumn Statement 2023 for the expansion of NHS Talking Therapies - protected in the 2024 Budget settlement - and the £65 million from the Spring and Autumn Budgets 2024 to expand Individual Placement and Support. The figures exclude capital funding.

Through setting clear expectations for Integrated Care Boards, increasing investment in mental health, and maintaining firm financial safeguards, this government is committed to delivering the ambitious reform agenda set out in the 10 Year-Health Plan and Medium-Term Planning Framework. This approach supports a shift away from input-based requirements towards a clearer focus on the outcomes that matter most for people with mental health needs, ensuring that services deliver the improvements in experience and care that the public rightly expects.