Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
4th Report - Community Mental Health Services
Health and Social Care Committee
HC 566
Published 2 December 2025
Government response
Government Response to the Committees' Fourth report · published 11 Mar 2026
Recommendations & Conclusions
6
Recommendation
Deferred
Co-design new mental health care models with experts by experience
Recommendation
Our conclusions in this Chapter try to reflect what service users told us they wanted. This must be reflected in service design. As new models of care are commissioned and implemented, these must be co-designed with experts by experience to …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation but defers concrete action, stating that development of the Mental Service Specification for SMI is underway. Timelines will be confirmed in due course, incorporating findings from a review and community mental health centre evaluation due in summer 2026.
Department of Health and Social Care
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16
Recommendation
Deferred
Publish clear guidance on key worker roles to ensure care coordination for service users.
Recommendation
In some areas, the emphasis on care coordination may have been lost through the rollout of the CMHF. We recommend that NHS England publish clear guidance on the role of key workers to ensure all service users have access to …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and states that NHS England is working with pilot sites, and insights from these pilots will be collated to inform future guidance on neighbourhood-based models of care.
Department of Health and Social Care
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