Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the link between good community mental health services and lower rates of detention under the Mental Health Act 1983.

On 4 October 2017, the Prime Minister announced an independent review of mental health legislation and practice to tackle the issue of mental health detention. The independent review will look at a range of issues, and central to this will be a consideration of why rates of detention are increasing and what can be done to reduce inappropriate detention and improve how different agencies respond to people in crisis. The review will make recommendations to Government in 2018.

The Government recognises that improved community mental health services need to be in place, to support people before their mental health deteriorates to the point they need to be detained under the Mental Health Act. Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams will therefore receive £400 million in additional funding by 2021, to ensure that they can offer a responsive service at all times of the day.

The Government is also investing £247 million to 2021 in mental health support in hospital emergency departments, and police forces are working National Health Service partners to deliver street triage services to support people with immediate mental health needs. The Government has already introduced a waiting time standard to help ensure that people receive rapid access to Early Intervention in Psychosis services, and in August 2017, 75.3% of patients started treatment within two weeks of referral.

On 18 October, the Government launched a new £15 million scheme, Beyond Places of Safety. This will seek to fund services in 2018/19 and 2019/20, including places of calm and crisis cafes, that offer support to people who are at risk of mental health crisis.