Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to legislative proposals to report the Mental Health Act 1983 announced in the Queens Speech 2022, if he will include provisions to meet the needs of children and young people; and what plans he has to (a) consult stakeholders on policy proposals on children and young people and (b) provide for pre-legislative scrutiny of those proposals.

The Government will publish a draft Mental Health Bill shortly. Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill will then be a matter for Parliament.

The Government consulted on the proposals for legislation made by the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act in 2018 and through the ‘Reforming the Mental Health Act’ white paper, which received over 1,700 responses. We have also worked with charities to gather the views of people, including children and young people, who were either in inpatient services or had lived experience of the Act. The development of the draft Bill has been informed by these consultations.