Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Mental Health Act 2025 and accompanying statutory guidance adequately address disparities in access, quality of care, and outcomes in commissioned mental health services for Black and minoritised women who are survivors of VAWG.

We recognise that there are significant and concerning racial disparities in the rates of detention under the previous Mental Health Act and driving reductions in inequalities is a guiding principle for the Mental Health Act 2025. The Government will be working very carefully with the wider mental health system to support the effective implementation of the provisions in the 2025 act, to reduce racial disparities in decision making under the act. The updating of the Code of Practice will be a key way in which we achieve this, and we will be formally consulting on the updated code.

We also recognise that some of the disparities arise from social, economic, and environmental factors outside the scope of the act, and these are being addressed separately. For example, earlier access to mental health support prior to mental health crisis is being driven through improved community-based mental health services and NHS England’s Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework is looking at transforming culture in wider mental health services, not just under the Mental Health Act.

Domestic abuse, sexual violence, and other forms of trauma are known risk factors for mental ill health, and we are committed to improving our national response to trauma through cross-Government action. The Department is taking specific steps to improve trauma-informed support for victims and survivors of abuse. This includes implementing the “Steps to Safety” referral service for domestic abuse and sexual violence across all integrated care boards, and investing £5 million each year for the next three years to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.