Thank you for the question. Hospitalisation is increasingly seen as a last resort and more young people now receive their care within their local community. To help meet the needs of young people who require in-patient care, we’ve invested £42 million in dedicated child and adolescent mental health service provision in Wales, leading to a reduction in those sent out of area.

The position on access was set out in my letter to the Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee on 25 February. A further update is due imminently to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, in response to the Chair of that committee’s letter of 7 March.