[holding answer 5 February 2007]: This information is shown in the table. The reduction in mental health bed numbers reflects the increasing provision by the national health service in England of treatment for patients with mental health conditions in primary care and community settings, without the need for hospital admissions.
Average daily number of beds available for acute mental health services in the NHS in England 1996-97 37,640 1997-98 36,601 1998-99 35,692 1999-2000 34,173 2000-01 34,214 2001-02 32,783 2002-03 32,753 2003-04 32,252 2004-05 31,286 2005-06 29,802 Source: Department of Health form KH03