Mental Health Bill [Lords]

Bayo Alaba Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 14th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)]

I thank everyone in the Chamber for their contributions to today’s debate. I will start by talking about the deeply moving contributions regarding the tragic death of Ruth Szymankiewicz. I extend my heartfelt condolences to Ruth’s family, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) and the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) for so powerfully advocating on behalf of Ruth and her family. The circumstances around Ruth’s death were unacceptable and should never have happened. We acknowledge multiple failings in her care.

Turning to the amendments, while we are not accepting any changes to the Bill, I hope that I can assure the House, in the short time remaining, that we are taking action to address the concerns that have rightly been raised. In relation to new clauses 6, 7, 29 and 36, we absolutely do not want young people placed in adult wards, and we are clear that patients should get treatment close to home. However, further legislative restrictions on placements risks leaving clinicians without options in emergencies or preventing treatment that is in the patient’s best interests. NHS England has worked with hundreds of children and families to develop a new service specification for children and young people’s mental health services. The specification is for commissioners and providers to follow, defining the care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Stephen Kinnock]

I will, but I have got little time and a lot of amendments to address, so I will not take any further interventions.

[Mr Alaba]

I had the privilege of meeting Helena and Christina, who shared with me the challenges they faced when their mother was sectioned when they were young girls. For two weeks, the responsibility for care was left entirely in their hands while local services struggled to find a suitable bed. Can the Minister confirm that through the Mental Health Bill, in conjunction with the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, young carers will be properly identified and that the additional boost in Government investment directly into mental health services will ensure that young carers receive the support they need?

[Stephen Kinnock]

I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. One of the core purposes of this Bill is to ensure that we catch such issues, particularly around the identification of children in cases where parents are required to be detained. We will reaffirm that children should be treated in the least restrictive, most age-appropriate environment and close to home and family, and that all services would work towards alternatives to admission, such as day care and intensive home treatment, with better support for visits, including with dedicated family areas and overnight stays. We have committed £75 million for systems to invest in reducing out-of-area placements, and I am pleased to report that the number of children placed on adult wards is now decreasing, and that trend must continue.

We have also committed in the Bill to reviewing the existing CQC notification requirements, including whether notification should be extended to other incidents and whether the time period remains appropriate. We will work with families, clinicians and MPs as part of that review. Indeed, following recent conversations with my hon. Friends the Member for Isle of Wight West and for Lowestoft (Jess Asato), I have asked officials to host a roundtable next month with Members and experts on how we can provide greater clarity in the code. The focus will also be on NHS England’s service specifications and regulations on the placement of children and young people in adult wards, including determining if a placement is suitable.

The revised code, on which we will engage extensively with—among others—children and their families and carers, will provide further opportunities to address concerns raised in amendments 33 and 39 and new clause 28. The code will also address the issue of competency. We believe that that is more appropriate than a test for competency in the Act, as proposed in new clauses 15 and 25.