Oral Answers to Questions

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 24th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Will Quince)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. National NHS guidance is absolutely clear: providers are expected to facilitate visiting for patients in hospital wherever possible and to do so in a risk-managed way. It is up to individual providers—they do have discretion—but I understand the benefit that this brings to patients. It is a very important factor, and I will meet NHS England to discuss this further.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

T5. According to a recent Care Quality Commission report, black people experiencing mental health crisis are 11 times more likely to be sectioned and to receive restrictive and violent community treatment orders. How will the Minister tackle these inequalities and implement the recommendations in the report?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. She is right that black and ethnic minority groups are more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. We are planning to reform the Mental Health Act. There has been pre-legislative scrutiny, and I hope that when we reform that Act there will be an improvement in those figures.