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<p><br> We have legislated for parity of esteem between mental and physical health
via the Health and Social Care Act 2012.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The 2014-15
Mandate to NHS England sets a clear objective for NHS England to deliver parity of
esteem. The Mandate also makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely
access to evidence-based [mental health] services’.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We
have invested over £120 million in order to introduce for the first time waiting times
standards for a number of mental health services – a very significant milestone on
the road to parity.</p><p> </p><p><br> The Government will hold the National Health
Service to account for achieving the objectives set out in the NHS Mandate for 2014-15
and the refreshed Mandate for 2015-16.</p><p> </p><p><br> Spending on mental health
is estimated to have increased by £302 million in 2014-15, with total mental health
spending rising from £11.362 billion in 2013-14 to £11.664 billion planned in 2014-15,
an increase of 0.6% in real terms. In the planning requirements for 2015-16, commissioners
were required to invest additionally in mental health in line with their increase
in allocation. The total planned additional spend is £376 million, an increase of
4.5%.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>NHS England published planning guidance for 2015-16
which made the expectation clear that each clinical commissioning group’s (CCGs) spending
on mental health services in 2015-16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at
least the same percentage as each CCG’s allocation increase.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
</p><p>The Government is committed to increasing the primary and community care workforce
to make available 10,000 primary care staff including an estimated 5,000 more doctors
working in general practice by 2020. We have backed this commitment with £10 million
of funding and a joint plan between NHS England, Health Education England, the Royal
College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association, to increase
the GP workforce.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Quality and Outcomes Framework
(QOF) is the annual reward and incentive programme detailing GP practice achievement
results. A number of mental health indicators are included in the QOF. It rewards
practices for the provision of quality care and helps to standardise improvements
in the delivery of clinical care. The mental health indicators help to drive improvements
in the care and monitoring of patients with depression, bipolar disorder, psychoses
and other mental illnesses.</p><p> </p>
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