Debate contribution: Mental Health Data
Debate contribution by Mrs Diane Dodds on .
- MLA
- Mrs Diane Dodds
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 16 February 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Mental Health Data
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5392017
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mr Deputy Speaker, I apologise for not being in my place at the beginning of the debate. As the previous contributor said, data is a really important issue not just for the outcomes that it might improve for people but for the services that we provide now and in the future. It is about assessing whether those services provide value for money, for example. Do they do what they are supposed to do? What are the positive or negative impacts on patients? The debate is on a very important issue. I was looking at the issue for the debate, and I came across the fact that, in 2021, the Office for Statistics Regulation highlighted significant limitations in mental health data in Northern Ireland, with the scarcity of robust data leading to significant gaps. Again, that comes back to a point that has been made. It highlighted the issue particularly in relation to mental health services. It also highlighted the fact that the Department and the health and social care trusts cannot determine whether services are value for money or whether they improve patients' lives and have good outcomes if they do not have an appropriate dataset against which to measure them. In 2023, the Northern Ireland Audit Office also reported on the issue. It concluded that there were:
"significant limitations in mental health data".
The Public Accounts Committee reported in 2024, so this is not a new issue. What is persistent in all of those examples is the lack of real progress in trying to join the dots and make the data available, whether that is from the Department or from the trusts. Encompass will help us to do some of that, but only if we can significantly interrogate the data and have outcomes that are transparent and available.
Yes, I will.
Thank you. That question is really pertinent to the debate. When we get cancer waiting lists, for example, there are always exemptions. There is always a problem that means that Encompass is not able to fulfil its purpose. I hope that, when it settles, it will, but that is really important. Halfway through the mental health strategy, we still do not have the outcomes framework that was promised. It is really important that we make some progress towards that following the debate. I also want to draw attention to the NHS mental health data hub and mental health dashboard that is prevalent in England as a way of providing information about mental health in a more open, transparent and understandable way. That is something that we should consider in order to provide the data that we need. I also understand that the Scottish Government are taking forward some work in that area. I see no reason why, when we have Encompass and the ability to do some of those things, we should not be able to produce a dashboard that gives us up-to-date information in relation to mental health. At the end of the day, all of this is about the choices that you make as Health Minister. In Northern Ireland, despite there being a population with very poor mental health and many mental health issues, and a Minister who, to be fair, has said that he prioritises mental health, we only spend 7% of our budget on it. That means that the wards in our hospitals are consistently overoccupied. The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends an upper limit for bed occupancy of 85%. In response to a question that I submitted, I was told that we had occupancy of up to 123%. There is a reason why space is required: the more pressure the wards are under, the poorer the outcomes we tend to get. I hope that we can make progress towards getting a better set of data on mental health. It will be good not just for patients and for people who suffer from mental ill health to have trust in the system, but for helping us to decide what services work, what services provide value for money and what services we should continue into the future.
682 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.96).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.96 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.94 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.06 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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