The second reading of the Mental Health Bill took place in the House of Lords this week (Monday 25 November) and it’s the last step before committee stage, where the bill will be examined line by line.
We hope that these reforms will bring more choice and agency for those whose lives are impacted by the Mental Health Act. As the first significant revisit of the Mental Health Act since 2007, change is long overdue.
The bill seeks to reduce the inequalities that are upheld by the Act in its current form, including the increased rates of detention for people from specific racialised communities (Black people are 3.5 times more likely to face detention under the Act). We want to see those inequalities eradicated entirely from our mental health care system.
While we are encouraged to see some of these proposals, we urge a holistic and transparent approach. In the current bill, vague and stigmatising language is used around “keeping people safe” that we believe could lead to potentially dangerous interpretation in practice.
The Autumn Budget reported that £26m will be provided to open new mental health crisis centres, which is welcome news. The aim is to reduce pressures on A&E services. The second reading of the bill noted that a recruitment drive for 8500 staff is planned. We are keen to learn more about improvements to infrastructure and training to support these changes.
We are heartened to see that advance choice documents are highlighted in this bill. Advance choice documents give people living with mental health issues an opportunity to state their wishes and instructions about treatment and care in the event of future mental health crises.
A McPin survey of our network in January 2024 found that 96% of people would consider using an advance choice document but only 50% had heard of it before. The Bill will make sure people know they can create an advance choice document and will be given support in doing so.
We have written about our lived-experience centred work with advance choice documents.
We will be watching closely as this bill progresses. At McPin, we will be working to understand how people in our networks feel about the proposed changes and how it could impact their lives.
We will be asking ourselves how our research can move us closer to better mental health for all, in light of the new Mental Health Bill.
If you would like to read the full transcript of the second reading of the Mental Health Bill, find it here.
