Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which stakeholders (a) he and (b) his officials have met with while (i) preparing, (ii) publishing and (iii) bringing forward the Mental Health Bill.

The reforms delivered by the Mental Health Bill reflect the recommendations made by the Independent Review into the Mental Health Act, which engaged widely with stakeholders, including people with lived experience. There was extensive consultation following this to develop the draft bill, most notably in the Government’s White Paper, Reforming the Mental Health Act. Since the initial draft bill, we have taken on board several recommendations from the pre-legislative scrutiny committee, which heard from a wide range of stakeholders and organisations representing service users, patients, and professionals.

Soon after the Mental Health Bill’s introduction to the House of Lords on 6 November 2024, the Department held a ministerial roundtable to discuss the content of the bill’s reforms with stakeholder groups, and a wider virtual meeting to update a broader range of stakeholders. Engagement has continued throughout the bill’s passage.