Committee calls for evidence on the Draft Mental Health Bill

The Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill has issued a call for evidence ahead of hearings due to take place in the autumn.

The Joint Committee has been established by the House of Lords and the House of Commons to consider the Government's draft Bill which aims to modernise the Mental Health Act for the 21st century.

Members are seeking views on how the draft Bill could be improved and how any identifiable issues could be resolved with consideration across a range of areas. They include patient autonomy and safety, detention, addressing inequalities, and the impact of the proposals on the workforce.

Please use this link to see full details of the call for evidence and the portal for written submissions. The deadline is Friday 16 September. Submissions should be no more than 3,000 words. Further information about submitting evidence here

Survey:

To improve understanding of how people might be affected by the Draft Mental Health Bill the Joint Committee is inviting patients, families, carers, practitioners, service users and others to complete a short survey. Responses will form part of the report and extracts from individual responses may be included in it anonymously.  

Baroness Buscombe has been chosen as Chair of the Joint Committee by the members of the Committee.

Comment from Baroness Buscombe, Chair of Joint Committee:

“Our work as a Joint Committee in scrutinising the draft Mental Health Bill will be crucial in assessing the extent to which it will improve patient choice and address inequalities.

“The importance of our work cannot be underestimated given the urgent need to bring about changes to legislation first enacted almost 40 years ago.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:

The Committee is required to report to both Houses of Parliament and make recommendations to the Government about the draft Bill by 16 December 2022.

Lords Members:

Baroness Buscombe, Chair, Conservative; Baroness Barker, Liberal Democrat; Baroness Berridge, Conservative; Lord Bradley, Labour; Baroness Hollins, Crossbench; Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall, Labour.

Commons Members:

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Tooting; Marsha De Cordova, Labour MP for Battersea; Jonathan Gullis, Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North; Dr Dan Poulter, Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; Dr Ben Spencer, Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge; Sir Charles Walker, Conservative MP for Broxbourne.