To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been made available to primary care trusts to assist them in fulfilling their statutory obligation to commission independent mental health advocates for people who have been detained under the Mental Health Act; and how that funding has been calculated. (245945)

Primary care trusts’ (PCTs) new statutory duty to commission independent mental health advocate services has been reflected in PCT baseline allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11. PCT allocations reflect the outcome of the comprehensive spending review, which takes account of a range of baseline and policy pressures, including the Mental Health Act. It will be a matter for local determination how PCTs meet their statutory duty, using their available resources.