Part of Health and Social Care – in the House of Commons at on 5 December 2023.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
Labour/Co-operative, Brighton, Kemptown
The Minister will know, because it covers her Constituency as well, that the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust does vital work in mental health, but there simply is not the resource, and I am afraid that parroting about parity of esteem does not tackle the issues. Wait times are 190 days for children and young people in her constituency and mine. I recently spoke to a mother in Peacehaven whose son is waiting for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis. His performance at school is in rapid decline, but because of the wait times he is not eligible for support in school via any education, health and care plan to start to turn things around. What assurances can the Minister give my constituents, and indeed her constituents, that the wait times for mental health will come down and that resources will be given to these partnerships, rather than just empty words?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
