Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help protect patients who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983.

The Mental Health Bill, which has now passed from the House of Lords to the House of Commons, will give patients greater choice, autonomy, enhanced rights, and support, and will ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect throughout treatment.

In January 2025, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) concluded a series of investigations into mental health inpatient settings. In 2023/24, approximately 51% of patients were detained under the act. The investigations raised important concerns and set out recommendations to improve mental health care, protect patients and the public, and promote a safe working environment for staff. The findings have been published in a series of reports, which are available on the HSSIB’s website.

NHS England has launched its mental health, learning disability, and autism inpatient quality transformation programme to support cultural change and embed a new model of care across all National Health Service-funded mental health inpatient settings. Local health systems have now published their three-year plans for localising and realigning inpatient care in line with this vision.

In addition, the Government is investing £75 million to reduce inappropriate out of area placements for mental health patients, so that they can be supported closer to their communities and in more appropriate settings.