Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Government has made on implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983.

We will publish a White Paper by the end of the year, which will set out the Government’s response, in full, to the independent review of the mental health act, and pave the way for new legislation.

We remain committed to reforming mental health law and will develop and bring forward legislation when Parliamentary time allows.

On the day of publication, we accepted two important recommendations that will give people more choice and control, and in June we accepted further recommendations made by the review, to tackle the disproportionate number of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups who are detained under the Act, including a serious of culturally appropriate advocacy pilots, and further steps to end the use of police stations as a place of safety once and for all.

The NHS Long Term Plan has already set out action to improve crisis care and community mental health services, in line with the review’s recommendations to improve community provision of people with serious mental illness.