Information requested on trends in the level of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) in England is not held centrally.

It is for integrated care boards to commission mental health services to meet the needs of their local population, including the needs of people with complex PTSD. The impact of trauma is widely recognised, including its potential lifelong consequences for people’s mental health, wellbeing, and life chances. Trauma-informed practice has therefore taken on growing prominence across the system as a way of improving how services recognise and respond to these experiences.

The information is not held in the format requested.

It is not possible to identify the amount of funding specifically for services supporting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many people treated for PTSD will receive treatment in NHS Talking Therapies, which support other common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as PTSD.

Depending on the circumstances of their case, individuals with diagnosed and undiagnosed PTSD may also be referred or could present themselves to most other forms of mental health provision, including community, crisis, and inpatient services, as well as to specific pathways for other conditions which may be co-occurring for some patients.

For 2026/27, overall National Health Service mental health spending is forecast to increase to a record £16.1 billion. The following table shows the amount of mental health spend for the past three years:

Note: the figure for 2025/26 is forecast.

Information on the proportion of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) clinicians who have received training in therapies for post‑traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not collected centrally. Providers, such as National Health Service trusts and other organisations delivering CAMHS, remain responsible for ensuring that their clinicians have the appropriate skills and training to meet the needs of children and young people, including where PTSD therapies are required.

This Government is committed to supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of current and former police officers, and we are working closely with police leaders to ensure this.

On 26 January 2026 we set out a comprehensive wellbeing package as part of our White Paper, “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing”. As that sets out, we will mandate overarching national wellbeing standards to ensure that every member of the workforce receives consistent support. We will also strengthen trauma prevention and early intervention, including ensuring protected time for trauma and suicide prevention training, rolling out tools to identify exposure to traumatic incidents, and developing new evidence-based trauma interventions. And we will expand the roll out of the dedicated Mental Health Crisis Line so all officers and staff, former and current, can access mental health support and have committed to its funding long term.

We are continuing to provide funding to the National Police Wellbeing Service. The Service  provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources for forces, which helps Chief Constables in their duty to ensure the wellbeing of their workforce.

In addition to the mainstream mental health services commissioned by integrated care boards, NHS England commissions Op COURAGE which is the bespoke integrated veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. The service provides a fully integrated mental health care pathway for veterans, which includes support for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. People benefit from personalised care plans, ensuring they can access support and treatment both in and out of hours. Op COURAGE is available across England and individuals can contact the service to make an appointment or ask someone to do this on their behalf.

The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services and can instead choose to use mainstream services in the National Health Service, such as talking therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.

No recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of the domestic use of fireworks on children, adults with PTSD and pets. Building on the work of my predecessor, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on fireworks-related issues and inform future action.

I launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign features guidance for those running events to reduce the impact on the community, and social media materials that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks, and the promotion of low noise fireworks.

NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, a bespoke integrated veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. The service provides a fully integrated mental health care pathway for veterans which includes support for veterans with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. People benefit from personalised care plans, ensuring they can access support and treatment both in and out of hours. Op COURAGE is available across England and individuals can contact the service to make an appointment or to ask someone to do this on their behalf. The Op COURAGE North service, run by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, covers the Cheshire area.

The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services and can instead choose to use mainstream National Health Services, such as talking therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

At this time no assessment has been made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of banning fireworks. However, the Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities, including those supporting veterans, to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action.

The Government has also launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign includes new guidance for those running community fireworks events, and new social media posts that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.

The NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of the people in Chichester.

People with post-traumatic stress disorder can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or their general practitioner can refer them.

Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services. We have chosen to prioritise funding to expand NHS Talking Therapies, so that the number of people completing a course of treatment is expected to increase by 384,000 by 2028/29.

We are also delivering on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers for children and adults by the end of this Parliament. We are more than halfway towards this target, which will help to ease pressure on busy mental health services.

My question is a bit like the buses this morning. I spend a lot of time knocking on doors and talking to residents in my constituency. A couple of weeks ago, one resident spoke with anguish about the challenges that his son, who is former armed services personnel, faces in suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. I have met the Veterans Minister to discuss this on a number of occasions, but can I ask him once again to emphasise the importance that this Government put on supporting veterans who have PTSD? This links in with work that I did in a previous role, in which I supported veterans out of homelessness—

This Government take seriously both physical and mental injuries from service. Op Courage has already seen 34,000 referrals. It is a fantastic programme that runs across the country and provides mental health services for veterans. I encourage any veteran who thinks that they need help to shout and seek help. It is the first step to recovery.

The NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of people across Greater Manchester.

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing is recommended as a treatment option for adults with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. People with post-traumatic stress disorder may be able to access it through local NHS Talking Therapies services.

The Government is committed to ensuring all veterans have access to the support they need, including health support. I have not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about medical cannabis.

If veterans are in need of support with their mental health, I encourage them to reach out to their GP or, for those in England, Op COURAGE: the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, which provides a broad range of specialist mental health and wellbeing care and support for service leavers, reservists, veterans and their families.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own specialist support pathways, through Veterans First Point Scotland, Veterans NHS Wales, and Veterans Welfare Services Northern Ireland, and each nations’ government is responsible for commissioning of treatment options.

We recognise that the use of cannabis-based medicines and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies, such as MDMA to treat mental illness, is gaining attention both within the medical and scientific communities as well as within the public more broadly. The licensing regime for controlled drugs allows legitimate medical research to take place with an appropriate licence and safeguards. A number of clinical studies are already being conducted, although no such substance has yet been licensed as safe and effective in the treatment of mental health conditions.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research supports the safe and scientifically sound conduct of clinical trials in this area and provides regulatory and scientific advice to companies at all stages of developing medicines. Any application for a marketing authorisation, otherwise known as a product licence, will be determined by the MHRA.

In line with the development of all medicines, as the evidence base grows and medicinal products are licensed, we will make sure that they are made available to patients, including through the National Health Service, if they are recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.

Healthcare in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Government, with seven Local Health Boards responsible for the planning and delivery of health services (including mental health therapy, such as PTSD) in prisons across Wales.

A strong partnership exists between HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in Wales, the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales, underpinned by a 2019 agreement. Regular strategic meetings and local partnership boards ensure that prisoners can access appropriate interventions, including mental health support, through coordinated efforts between prison services and healthcare providers.

HMPPS delivers a range of initiatives to support veterans including via third sector organisations, who provide a prison in-reach service to veterans whilst in custody.

Currently, Work Capability Assessment re-assessments are prioritised for customers on Employment and Support Allowance and the health element of Universal Credit who report a change in their health condition. Routine department-led reassessments are scheduled according to expected prognosis length for recovery and subject to available assessment capacity.

Individuals who have Limited Capability for Work- and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA), with the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function means that they will always have LCWRA and are unlikely ever to be able to move into work, are not routinely reassessed.

Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, which is why we will continue to ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed.

We already undertake a number of face-to-face benefit assessments. However, as announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we intend to do more while preserving alternative health assessment channels to meet the specific needs of people who require a different channel, for example as a reasonable adjustment.

In all cases, the Healthcare Professional (HCP) aims to complete the assessment using the customer’s health questionnaire and any supporting medical evidence provided. Should this not be possible the customer is invited to a consultation. Before sending an invitation to a consultation, the HCP considers whether a specific assessment channel is needed due to the customer’s health or circumstances. Otherwise, customers are offered the next available appointment, which can be changed if they inform us that a reasonable adjustment is appropriate in their circumstances.

We are committed to ensuring equal access to our services, in line with the Equality Act 2010. Customers are encouraged to inform us of any reasonable adjustments at any stage. If notified, the assessment provider will consider an alternative assessment method.

On 25 June, I attended an online event with veterans, as one of the series of consultation events on the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.