Member

In that vein, can the Minister tell us whether the Government’s concern might be about resources? If so, we understand that; the Minister was very open at Second Reading in saying that the Government would not be able to deliver everything immediately—it would be over 10 years—and that reforms would be delivered at different stages, depending on spending reviews and resources. However, there is a point about prescribing by mental health nurses. Mental health nurses have been prescribing treatment for mental health conditions since 2001 and in some ways have been able to alleviate some of the pressures on psychiatrists by acting as supplementary prescribers. I wonder whether the Government have given any thought to that as a way of doing things more cost effectively, or is there a concern? We heard the debate a few weeks ago about physician associates and anaesthesia associates and the concerns around that. Will the Minister tell us whether the Government will consider the use of mental health nurses, perhaps as a method of introducing more locally available psychiatric prescribing services, or are there too many concerns?