Written question asked by Linda Gilroy (Labour) on Thursday, 18 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 March 2010. It was answered by Phil Hope (Labour) on Monday, 29 March 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Eating Disorders: Young People

Question: (2) what steps his Department takes to assist parents and carers of young people with eating disorders.

Answer: Information on the number of young people treated for eating disorders is not collected centrally.We take the issue of eating disorders, especially among young people, very seriously. Services for people with eating disorders are available throughout the country in both primary and secondary care. We asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to publish guidelines for practitioners on core interventions for these disorders which it did in 2004. These guidelines will be reviewed in 2011.We are also providing funding worth £131,000 for beat's (the eating disorder's charity) Pathway to Recovery project which provides a support network for people who have recovered from an eating disorder.

Secondary information