Charities fear that key mental health reforms are being shelved by the Government as it prepares to set out its legislative plans in the King’s Speech.
Failing to include the draft Mental Health Bill in Tuesday’s announcement “would be an insult”, according to Mind.
The blueprint was published by the Government in June 2022, outlining “once-in-a-generation” reforms to the Mental Health Act in line with the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto, which vowed to treat “mental health with the same urgency as physical health”.
We urge Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take his final chance to deliver a safer, more humane Mental Health Act, which not only has widespread cross-party support, but has been a Conservative manifesto commitment for several years in a row— Vicki Nash, Mind
It was scrutinised by a joint committee earlier this year but there has been no formal response from the Government.
Vicki Nash, associate director of policy and campaigns at Mind, said: “Failing to include the draft Mental Health Bill in tomorrow’s King’s Speech would be an insult to the countless professionals and people with lived experience, who have dedicated huge amounts of time and resource into shaping the reforms.
“The Mental Health Act must be brought into the 21st century to give people greater say over their treatment at their most unwell, and stop the shocking racial disparities which see black people over four times more likely to be sectioned.
“We urge Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take his final chance to deliver a safer, more humane Mental Health Act which not only has widespread cross-party support, but has been a Conservative manifesto commitment for several years in a row.”
In its report on the draft Bill, which was published in January, MPs welcomed the reforms but said “proper resourcing and implementation will be crucial” to the proposed changes.
“Mental health services are under significant pressure and, in a difficult fiscal environment, transparency and accountability will be key,” the document added.
The group recommended a number of measures, including the creation of a mental health commissioner post.
Ms Nash said the “long-overdue reforms” have “completely fallen off the UK Government’s radar”, and the lack of response to the committee’s report “is at best ignorant, and at worst, callous”.
If a bill is not proposed, we urge ministers to make the major investment needed in inpatient beds, community services and the psychiatric workforce, so that people whose mental health is deteriorating can be helped before they reach crisis point and the Mental Health Act has to be used— Marjorie Wallace, Sane
Marjorie Wallace, founder and chief executive of mental health charity Sane, said the organisation will be “concerned and disappointed if a mental health Bill is not included in the new legislative programme”.
“A draft Bill has already been through pre-legislative scrutiny, with MPs and peers urging ministers to bring about long overdue reform to provide improved support and care for those deprived of their liberty,” she added.
“To see reform delayed now would betray vulnerable people and their families, and the realisation of the ambition of individual choice and control for patients.
“If a Bill is not proposed, we urge ministers to make the major investment needed in inpatient beds, community services and the psychiatric workforce, so that people whose mental health is deteriorating can be helped before they reach crisis point and the Mental Health Act has to be used.”
Mark Winstanley, chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, said: “The Mental Health Act exists to support and protect people when they are unwell and in crisis.
“But it hasn’t kept pace with the world we live in, and for too many it now does more harm than good, with black people disproportionately impacted. Reform is essential. Draft legislation has been agreed and has cross-party support. This now comes down to whether the Government prioritises reform or not.”
The Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment.
