Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to engage with mental health service users on the development of mental health policy.

A significant number of mental health service users have taken part in our 10-Year Health Plan engagement. 28% of participants on the Change NHS website reported waiting to access mental health services as a challenge they have experienced, while one in six said they had accessed mental health services in the last 12 months. Over 100 people with a mental health condition attended our public and staff deliberative events and 170 mental health organisations contributed to the Change NHS website, in addition to the organisations who attended our national partners council meetings and other meetings. The 10-Year Health Plan will be published shortly, and this will set out how the overall health system will run.

The Mental Health Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, will modernise the Mental Health Act so that it is fit for the 21st century, ensuring that people with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care. The bill reflects the recommendations of Professor Sir Simon Wessely’s Independent Review into the Mental Health Act of 2018. The review’s advisory panel comprised of individuals with lived experience, advocacy organisations, professionals and representative bodies, and representatives from the statutory system. The Government ran an extensive public consultation on the proposals in the Mental Health Act White Paper, which received over 1,700 total responses and more than 1,119 individual responses. Since July 2024, we have further engaged with a range of key stakeholders and we will continue to engage, and consult widely, on the development of the Mental Health Act Code of Practice, the statutory guidance which will inform practice under the bill.

In addition, ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders who represent the interests of mental health service users, about future plans for mental health services.