To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2010, Official Report, columns 125-6W, on mental health services: advocacy, how frequently information on the availability and accessibility of independent mental health advocates in hospitals which detain patients under the Mental Health Act 1983 will be collected and published; and in which quarter he expects the annual report of the Care Quality Commission to be laid before Parliament.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the new integrated regulator for health and adult social care from 1 April 2009. They have told us that:

the implementation of independent mental health advocacy is of particular interest to them; the availability and accessibility of advocacy will be a standard question asked on all of their regular visits to hospitals from 1 April 2010; the results will be reflected in annual statements on every hospital (in the independent sector) or trust (in the national health service) that they visit and that these statements will be published on the CQC website towards the end of each calendar year; and a CQC report containing initial findings on the implementation of independent mental health advocacy in 2009-10 is planned for publication in October 2010.