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Policy Paper Published 27 Jun 2022 Department of Health and Social Care Ministry of Justice ↗ View on GOV.UK

Draft Mental Health Bill 2022

The government is publishing a draft Mental Health Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny, to modernise the Mental Health Act for the 21st century.

▤ Verbatim text from source document

This draft bill delivers on 2 government manifesto commitments:

  • to reform the Mental Health Act
  • to improve the way that people with a learning disability and autistic people are treated in law

This draft legislation is intended to give effect to the policy approaches outlined in Sir Simon Wessely’s landmark independent review in 2018. These were subsequently taken forward in the government’s white paper Reforming the Mental Health Act in 2021.

These are once-in-a-generation reforms, to give people greater control over their treatment and help ensure they receive the dignity and respect they deserve.