Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department intends to publish the draft statutory guidance for the Mental Health Act 2025 for consultation; and if he will commit to consulting by and for specialist VAWG organisations in the development of that guidance.

Following Royal Assent of the Mental Health Act 2025, our priority for 2026 is to update the revised Code of Practice. We will engage extensively, including with people with lived experience and their families and carers, staff, and professional groups, commissioners, providers, voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations, and others to do this. There will also be a formal public consultation in early 2027, where we will encourage responses from anyone who wishes to input, including specialist violence against women and girls organisations.

We will be updating the Code of Practice, not just to reflect the new primary legislation, but to provide further guidance and clarity on non-legislative aspects relevant to the reforms, as well as more broadly to make general improvements and updates.