Efforts to modernise outdated mental health legislation have been welcomed as a “vital step” in improving the quality and compassion of care, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said, as the Government’s Mental Health Bill cleared its first stage in the House of Commons.
Speaking during the Bill’s second reading on Monday evening, Mr Streeting told MPs that attitudes to mental health had progressed significantly since the introduction of the Mental Health Act in 1983, yet the law itself had remained “frozen in time”.
The new legislation aims to give patients more agency over their treatment, introduce more frequent reviews and appeals, and ensure that detention is used only when strictly necessary. A particular focus has been placed on reducing the time that people with autism or learning disabilities can be detained, reflecting calls from campaigners and experts for reform.
Mr Streeting said: “The measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. When it comes to the treatment of people with serious mental illness, we are falling well short of the humane, compassionate society we aspire to be.”
Highlighting the disparity in outcomes, he pointed out that patients with serious mental health issues often live 15 to 20 years less than the average population, with many forced to live far from loved ones and endure unsuitable accommodation.
He referenced a damning investigation by Lord Darzi, which found nearly 20 patients forced to share two showers in facilities infested with rats and cockroaches. Mr Streeting criticised the current system as one that fails to offer patients the same rights and dignity afforded to those with physical illnesses.
He also drew attention to persistent racial inequalities in the system: “People from ethnic minority communities, and especially black African and Caribbean men, are more than three times as likely to be sectioned.”
Describing the inclusion of autistic individuals and those with learning disabilities within the same legal framework as those with mental illness as “outdated,” he said the Bill reflects improved medical understanding and public expectations.
“This Bill does not solve every problem in our mental health services, but it marks a vital step in our plans to improve the quality of care, combat long-standing inequalities, and bring about a stronger focus on prevention and early intervention,” he said.
The new reforms will require clinicians to consider the risk of serious harm to patients and the public before initiating detention. Mr Streeting made clear that most people with mental illness do not pose a danger, but acknowledged that for some, illness can temporarily render them a risk.
He referenced recent high-profile tragedies involving Valdo Calocane, whose violent attacks in Nottingham left three people dead. “Both he and his victims were failed by the health service,” Mr Streeting said. “The families are left to live through the consequences in a level of pain the rest of us could scarcely imagine.”
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The Bill, which has already been reviewed in the House of Lords, was welcomed by Shadow Health Secretary Ed Argar, who praised the Government’s efforts to bring the law in line with modern clinical knowledge and social values.
“We welcome efforts to improve the patient’s voice in their own care,” Mr Argar said, noting the Bill’s inclusion of ‘advanced choice documents’—a key tool in giving patients more control.
He added: “It’s not only important but right that our laws are updated to reflect the modern world and the knowledge we have today.”
While the Bill will face further parliamentary scrutiny in the coming weeks, cross-party consensus appears to be forming around the need to address long-standing issues in the mental health system and to better protect the rights and dignity of those affected.
