Mental health reform
“My Ministers will continue work to reform the Mental
Health Act to improve respect for, and care of, those receiving
treatment.”
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In 2017, we commissioned the independent review of the
Mental Health Act to look at: rising rates of detention; the
disproportionate number of people from black and minority
ethnic groups detained under the Act; and processes that are
out of step with a modern mental health care system.
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The findings made clear that we need to modernise the
Mental Health Act to ensure that patients’ views are respected,
and that patients are not detained any more than is absolutely
necessary.
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We will publish a White Paper by the end of this year,
setting out our response. This will pave the way for reform to
the Mental Health Act, and tackle issues addressed by the
review.
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We will ensure that people subject to the Act receive
better care and have a much greater say in that care.
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Patient choice and autonomy will be improved, for example
by enabling patients to set out their preferences around care
and treatment in advance.
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The process of detention, care and treatment while
detained will be reformed, including by providing patients with
the ability to challenge detention.
Key facts
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Where the Mental Health Act is not working for people, we
have already taken action. For example, we amended the Act in
2017 to move away from the use of police cells as places of
safety - reducing their use by over 95 per cent since
2012.
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In 2017-18, there were 49,511 new detentions under the
Mental Health Act.
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In 2018-19, the Government increased spending on mental
health to a record £12.5 billion.
