Welfare Reform Bill

I understand that the Government’s view is that they do not need to be because they are already widely available nationally. The noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, talked about what he saw as the inefficiencies in the Government’s approach across the board to mental health. We agree that joining up services and policy is extremely important. We work closely with colleagues in DCSF, the Department of Health, Communities and Local Government and the Treasury, as well as the devolved Administrations. That is our response to the question why there is not more joined-up government. The noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, talked about the IPS model. We agree that individual placement and support has the potential to be valuable to people with severe and enduring mental health conditions. The recent review of mental health led by Rachel Perkins, which was announced by the then Secretary of State, has within its remit looking at how models such as IPS can improve our provision. So we are looking at that as a result of the Perkins review.