To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department provides to universities on the provision of mental health services.

The department is working closely with Universities UK (UUK) on the ongoing programme of work on mental health in higher education. UUK has worked in partnership with the Institute for Public Policy Research to strengthen the evidence base on mental health in higher education and launched their Step Change programme on 4 September 2017. The Step Change framework offers detailed guidance to higher education institutions (HEIs), including a strategy checklist for university leaders

(http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/stepchange/Pages/checklist.aspx).

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health green paper, open for consultation until 2 March 2018, outlines government’s plans to set up a new national strategic partnership focused on improving the mental health of 16-25 year olds – encouraging more coordinated action, experimentation and robust evaluation of mental health services.

As autonomous and independent organisations, it is for HEIs to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students. Each institution will be best placed to identify the needs of their particular student body, including taking actions in line with any legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.