Concerns about a lack of out-of-hours access to mental health services for children in Cumbria have been raised in Parliament.

Tim Farron, MP for South Lakes, tackled Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt on the issue during Health Questions in Westminster - flagging up a difference in support for those in north and south Cumbria.

He called on the Government to back his campaign to extend out-of-hours crisis teams to cover the whole of the county.

Bosses at the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the service, say it could be rolled out within weeks.

They say they are working with the Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to finalise the plans.

A recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) flagged up long waiting lists within the trust's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which have been highlighted previously.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Farron said: “Specialist mental health crisis care for young people in south Cumbria is only available between the hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday."

"Will he (Mr Hunt) join with me in asking the CCG in Morecambe Bay to make sure there is out of hours and weekend care for all people?”

In response, Mr Hunt said that he was happy to look into the issue.

The Secretary of State said a lot of work had been done to set up crisis care provision around the country.

"We need to build on that for the simple reason that, if we are to have parity of esteem, people need to be able to get help in a mental health crisis, just as they are if something goes wrong with their physical health," he added.

Cumbrian health bosses yesterday met with all of the area's MPs in Westminster as part of their regular quarterly discussions.

Mr Farron said he had also flagged up his concerns about mental health cover in the county during that meeting.

Speaking after the debate, the MP said he would continue to raise the issue until there was proper support in place.

“Mental health crises don't just happen during office hours, so it is important that young people can get help whenever they need it," he said.

“The current system is badly letting down them down, and I will keep on fighting until we win the out-of-hours care that is so badly needed.”

Stephen Eames, chief executive of Cumbria Partnership, said: "We are working with Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group to provide an out-of-hours service for our child and adolescent mental health services in south Cumbria in line with the service we provide in north Cumbria.

"We expect this to be in this place in the next few weeks.

"We had a very constructive discussion with Tim Farron and we are grateful for his support in campaigning to improve the provision of support for young people in Cumbria."