Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministerial Statement

Draft Mental Health Bill 2022

26 January 2023 · 6 other contributors

Opened by Daniel Poulter Con Central Suffolk and North Ipswich

Mental Health

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Daniel Poulter raised concerns about draft mental health bill 2022 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • Dr Daniel Poulter introduced the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill to the House
  • The committee has held 21 meetings since July 2022
  • Over 50 witnesses and more than 100 written submissions were received by the committee

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Government Statement

Daniel Poulter

Dr Daniel Poulter drew the House's attention to his entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a practising NHS psychiatrist. He introduced the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill, which has been working since July 2022, holding 21 meetings, speaking with over 50 witnesses and receiving more than 100 submissions of written evidence. The committee highlighted rising detention rates under the Mental Health Act and a disproportionate impact on black and ethnic minority communities. They welcomed reforms that aim to improve patient choice, reduce detentions and racial inequality but also identified concerns around implementation, resourcing and potential unintended consequences. Recommendations were made to address these issues and create a mental health commissioner to drive further reform. Proper resourcing and workforce planning are crucial for the success of the Bill, with the need for annual reporting on progress against plans. Key principles such as choice and autonomy must be included in the legislation. Tackling racial inequalities was highlighted, recommending monitoring data on inequalities and reviewing community treatment orders for black patients. Changes to detention criteria were recommended to ensure they benefit patients, while addressing issues around learning disabilities and autism by removing them from long-term detention conditions but with safeguards against displacement into criminal justice systems. Patient choice should be enhanced through advance choices documents. The number of children experiencing mental distress has risen dramatically post-pandemic, highlighting the need for stronger protections in legislation.

Other contributors (6)
  • Rosena Allin-Khan Lab Tooting

    Question

    All those patients, campaigners and experts who provided evidence to the Joint Committee were thanked. Special thanks were given to Alexis Quinn for her lived experience with autism that touched many committee members. It was an honour working on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve rights during mental health crises and tackle entrenched inequalities in legislation. The draft Bill still does not go far enough to address these disparities, especially racial ones, urging the Government to put patient voices at the heart of this legislation and take the Joint Committee’s recommendations on board.

    Minister reply

    Dr Daniel Poulter thanked Rosena Allin-Khan for her work as a frontline clinician. He agreed that it has been 40 years since any changes were made to the Mental Health Act, stressing the need for updates through this Bill. He urged the Government to take on board the committee’s recommendations and concerns to strengthen the draft legislation, advocating for continued cross-party collaboration in improving mental health care.

  • Will Quince

    Question

    I sincerely thank my hon. Friend and the Committee for all the work that has been put into this constructive and important report, and I also thank all those who gave evidence to the Committee.

    Minister reply

    I agree with the Minister. He is right to suggest that this is an important step forward and this piece of legislation will make a significant difference to patients, but it is part of a process, not the end of the journey.

  • Fleur Anderson Lab Putney

    Question

    I welcome this report, and in particular the section on racial inequalities, which have been highlighted in my constituency by organisations such as the Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network for many years.

    Minister reply

    I am optimistic that if the Government adopt the recommendations we have made, we will have a much stronger Bill that recognises that we need to improve the care that is available to all patients and, in particular, that will deal with some of the racial disparities we currently see in the implementation of the Mental Health Act.

  • Ben Spencer Con Runnymede and Weybridge

    Question

    I draw the House’s attention to my range of interests in this area, which were declared as part of the Committee’s report. I thank my hon. Friend for his statement and join him in thanking all those involved in the Committee.

    Minister reply

    The Committee was very lucky that we had the professional expertise of my hon. Friend, the hon. Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan), a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and some distinguished lawyers.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Question

    I thank the Committee for its recommendations and the hon. Gentleman for his presentation of this report.

    Minister reply

    I thank the hon. Member for his question. As part of our work, we looked at elements of reform that are being considered across the devolved Administrations.

Shadow Comment

Rosena Allin-Khan

Rosena Allin-Khan thanked all those who provided evidence to the Joint Committee and expressed her appreciation for the cross-party working on this once-in-a-generation opportunity. She acknowledged that while it has been a long time since updating the legislation, the draft Bill still falls short in tackling health inequalities and racial disparities in detention rates under the Mental Health Act. She urged the Government to put patient voices at the heart of the legislation and take on board the Joint Committee’s recommendations.

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