This page contains resources relating to the Mental Health Bill introduced into the House of Lords in November 2024. I will keep adding to this page, but if there are things that you consider to be particularly useful in informing the Parliamentary process, please do flag them to me.
Background to the Bill
The then-Prime Minister, Theresa May, commissioned an independent review of the Mental Health Act 1983 in October 2017. Chaired by Sir Simon Wessely, it reported in December 2018. The Government published its white paper, Reforming the Mental Health Act, in January 2021. It consulted on the white paper proposals from January to April 2021 and published its response to the consultation in August 2021. A draft Mental Health Bill was published in June 2022. It was subject to review by a joint Committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons. The Government responded in March 2024. The Conservative Government did not ultimately bring forward a Bill before the 2024 General Election; the Labour Government announced that it would bring forward such a Bill in its first King’s Speech.
The Bill and supporting materials
The current version of the Bill (after Report stage in the House of Lords) can be found here, and the Explanatory Notes here. The Bill is very difficult to read in isolation, as it is a Bill amending the Mental Health Act 1983. Helpfully, the DHSC have now produced a version of the Act as it would look as if amended by the Bill as it stands after Report stage in the House of Lords. I have also done a walkthrough of the MHA 1983 as if it would look if amended by the Bill as introduced (nb, this was recorded prior to Committee stage in the House of Lords – some changes have been made subsequently as very helpfully summarised by Tim Spencer-Lane here).
The Impact Assessment for the Bill can be found here, and a Human Rights Memorandum here. An Easy Read version can be found here.
Parliamentary stages
The Second Reading of the Bill took place in the House of Lords on 25 November 2024, Second Reading being the first substantive consideration by Parliament of the Bill. It has now finished Report stage in the House of Lords, has cleared second reading in the House of Commons, and will be starting Committee stage. The Public Bill Committee has issued a call for evidence. As the Public Bill Committee says:
The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration.
The Public Bill Committee will scrutinise the Bill line by line. The Public Bill Committee will meet for the first time on Tuesday 9 June 2025 to consider the Bill and is expected to report by 5pm on Thursday 26 June. When the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill, it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Thursday 26 June. You are strongly advised to submit your written evidence as soon as possible.
Useful contextual material
A timeline from independent review to draft Bill, and briefing paper (16 May 2025) from the House of Commons Library can be found here.
An earlier (18 November 2024) briefing paper from the House of Lords Library can be found here.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has published (19 May 2025) a legislative scrutiny report on the Bill as it stands on entry into the Commons here. On 8 May 2025, the Chair of the Committee sent a letter to the Secretary of State for Health with a report summarising a roundtable with people with personal experience of the mental health system, including people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and staff from supporting organisations.
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has published a series of POSTnotes. Whilst they were drafted by reference to earlier stages in the process, they remain very relevant in highlighting key issues and evidence.
Mental Health Act Reform – Race and Ethnic Inequalities (May 2022)
Mental Health Act Reform – Children and Young People (November 2022)
Reforming the Mental Health Act – Approaches to Improve Patient Choice (May 2023)
Mental Health Act reform – impacts on autistic people and people with a learning disability (July 2024)
