The Government’s draft Mental Health Bill must be strengthened to address rising numbers detained under current legislation and tackle unacceptable and inexcusable failures on racial inequalities, say MPs and Peers.
The Joint Committee’s detailed report is published today following extensive hearings to scrutinise the draft legislation. The Joint Committee, established in July 2022, has examined the extent to which the draft Bill would ensure fewer people were detained against their wishes, promote patient choice, address racial inequalities and end the inappropriate long-term detention of people with learning disabilities and autistic people under the Act.
The Committee supports reform of the 1983 Mental Health Act and the intentions behind the draft Bill. It says that the reform process should not end here and needs to continue beyond the draft Bill in the direction of more rights-led legislation that respects patient choice.
The Government is urged to publish a comprehensive implementation and workforce plan alongside the Bill with clear actions and milestones. There should be a statutory duty to report annually to Parliament on the progress against milestones, including the number of detentions, length of stay and progress on reducing racial and ethnic inequalities.
Chair of the Joint Committee on the draft Mental Health Bill Baroness Buscombe said:
“We welcome the intention of the Government’s draft Bill to bring about long overdue mental health reform. We hope Ministers will accept our amendments which strengthen the Bill and deliver workable legislation. Ministers must now act swiftly to bring it before Parliament.
“To drive reform, we urge the creation of a new Mental Health Commissioner to monitor the implementation of the Bill and to speak up for patients, families and carers.
“We believe stronger measures are needed to bring about change, in particular to tackle racial disparity in the use of the Mental Health Act. The failure to date is unacceptable and inexcusable.
“The Government should strengthen its proposal on advanced choice and give patients a statutory right to request an advance choice document setting out their preferences for future care and treatment, thereby strengthening both patient choice and their voice.
“The existing shortfall in community care must also be addressed or these reforms risk being derailed, with worse outcomes for those that the Bill is intended to help.”
