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 Bill 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. I have therefore done an unofficial version of the MHA 1983 as it would look if amended by the Bill. I have also done a walkthrough of the MHA 1983 as if it would look if amended by the Bill as introduced.
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. An excellent summary of the debate by Tim Spencer-Lane can be found here.
The further stages of the Bill will be set out here.
Useful contextual material
A briefing paper from the House of Lords Library can be found here.
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)
